October 15th 2023.
James Harden's beef with Philadelphia 76ers GM Daryl Morey is ongoing. When asked if the relationship could be repaired, Harden was unequivocal: "No. My whole thing was I wanted to retire a Sixer and the front office didn't have that in their future plans. It's literally out of my control. It's something I didn't want to happen...But I've got to make a decision for my family. I understand this is a business. It's just as simple as that. If I'm here today, I'll work my butt off and do the things necessary as a professional as I've been doing for 15 years."
The NBA fined Harden $100,000 for comments he made during a promotional event in China, suggesting he would not perform services called for under his player contract unless traded to another team. Harden likened his deteriorating relationship with Morey to a bad marriage, saying "When you lose trust in someone, it's like a marriage. You lose trust in someone, you know what I mean? It's pretty simple."
Harden picked up his $35.6 million player option expecting to be traded, but that hasn't happened yet. Yahoo reported that Morey wants assets in return for Harden that would allow the 76ers to flip for an All-Star caliber guard to replace Harden with, but that asking price might be divorced from the reality of Harden's worth. The Clippers, Harden's preferred trade destination, are currently unwilling to part with either star players or young assets.
Adrian Wojnarowski, an NBA insider, said that a trade for Harden is unlikely to be easy, as teams generally do not want to trade for an expiring contract like Harden's. Wojnarowski noted that the Clippers are trying to find another trade partner who is willing to give two protected picks for the chance to get Harden in 2028.
Despite the ongoing tension between him and Morey, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse told Yahoo that Harden has been a professional in practice sessions with the team. Nurse said, "It's been exactly the same. He's been really good in practice. I know he's working extremely hard almost every night, like the workouts at night are really intense as well. And we're just going day-by-day."
As the preseason continues, a trade for Harden that reflects what Morey wants is looking less and less likely.
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