NBA Hall of Famer, Former Celtic, Weighs in on James Harden's Standoff with Sixers

Once again, James Harden's relationship with the franchise he plays for has soured. So has his now severed bond with the Sixers' president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey.

James Harden: “Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of. Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.” pic.twitter.com/AmHJ0WwbF2
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 14, 2023

Harden took a discount last offseason, paving the way for Philadelphia to sign P.J. Tucker and Danuel House. He says he did so under the impression the Sixers would ink him to a more lucrative contract this summer.

Not only would such an act violate the NBA's collective bargaining agreements, new and old, but the former MVP spent much of last season trying to sell his former team, the Rockets, on a reunion.

Houston, under new coach and former Celtics' bench boss Ime Udoka, ultimately chose to go in a different direction, signing Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks this summer.

Harden pivoted by exercising his $35.6 million player option and demanding a trade to the Clippers. However, Los Angeles isn't willing to offer Morey a return satisfying his need to flank Joel Embiid with another star to keep Philadelphia in title contention.

Harden's explosive comments recently certainly didn't help the Sixers' hopes of the Clippers coming to them with a more enticing trade package.

In an interview with Heavy's Steve Bulpett, Hall of Famer Kevin McHale, who won three NBA championships with Boston in the 80s and whose number 32 hangs from the rafters of TD Garden, conveyed he wasn't surprised by the actions of Harden, who McHale coached with the Rockets from 2012-13 through 2015-16 while Morey served as general manager.

"I've been involved in a million meetings as a coach and GM, and, you know, players hear what they want to hear a lot of times. And Daryl's smart," expressed McHale. "My whole take on the thing is I think Daryl's really hooked up with James, but I think ownership looked at it. Let's face it, if the owner looks at you and says, 'We're signing that dude,' you're signing that dude; (the) story's over. And if the owner looks at you and says, 'We're not signing that dude,' you're not signing him.

"James wanted a big extension from Philly, and Philly wouldn't give it to him, and that's not a Daryl decision. Daryl's got a part of that, of course, but that's an owner('s) decision. So (Harden) was really mad, saying Daryl lied to him, but, you know, maybe they saw Game 7 against the Celtics (9 points on 3-for-11 shooting in a 24-point loss) and said, 'I'm not interested in that.'

"I think Daryl would have probably tried to extend him and keep everything happy. But as far as trading him goes, you know, Daryl gets stubborn. It's going to be interesting."

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