The biggest news of the 2023-24 NBA season, so far, involves James Harden, as the former league MVP is finally on the move from the Philadelphia 76ers after requesting a trade back in June. For months, Harden and the Sixers have been at odds with one another as a result of the All-Star's request and demands. Now, Harden is set to embark on a new journey after being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, his fourth team in as many seasons.
Most trades in the NBA see the team and player bid each other farewell, thanking one another and wishing each other the best of luck moving forward. That is not the case here with Harden and the 76ers, as this turned out to be a negative, toxic divorce.
Harden's initial trade request was a result of the star guard not receiving a long-term contract offer from the 76ers after he claimed team president Daryl Morey promised him a new deal. This led to Harden publicly calling out Morey while overseas and the 10-time All-Star has ignored the long-time executive since.
Once Harden's best friend and the main reason why he wanted to go to Philadelphia in 2022 to begin with, Morey is now Harden's nemesis. In fact, these two may never again clink glasses or see one another. According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Harden has told his associates that he doesn't intend to speak to Morey ever again.
James Harden's fallout in Philadelphia
“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”
This is what James Harden said over the summer, not holding back on his true feelings of Morey and the way the Sixers' executive handled business. Harden wanted a new contract, that was no secret to anyone around the league. After leading the league in assists per game and helping Joel Embiid claim his first ever MVP award, it seemed like Philadelphia was going to be giving Harden a new, long-term contract to keep him as one of the faces of their franchise.
According to Shelburne, Harden and his camp became convinced Morey only intended to offer him a two-year deal that contained a team option in Year 2, assuming he opted out of his initial player option this offseason. As a result, Harden took this as an insult, especially since the 76ers would have the option of declining his contract and renegotiating after every single season. As Shelburne notes, this would have essentially turned Harden into a year-to-year player in Philly.
Even with Morey and the 76ers insisting that this was not the case, Harden had enough of the lies and deceit. This led to his trade request.
Morey, who had no intentions of trading Harden, dragged the drama out well into training camp and into the start of the 2023-24 season. The Sixers made it clear to the rest of the league that they were not prepared to give up Harden unless they were receiving equal, championship-like value in return. No team in the league was willing to meet this demand.
After initially not showing up to the team's training camp in Colorado, Harden arrived at camp and it appeared as if things were trending in the right direction between the two sides. However, the Sixers star only spoke with his teammates and coaches, avoiding Morey and front office personnel every chance he got, league sources told ClutchPoints.
Taking a leave of absence from the team in the preseason to address a personal matter, Harden arrived before the start of the regular-season and was denied access to the team plane before it was set to depart for Milwaukee. Harden, who wanted to be on the bench and with his teammates for their first game of the season despite not being ready to play, was told to remain at the team's practice facility in Camden, New Jersey in order to condition and work on getting in shape for the season since he had missed a lot of practice time.
General manager Elton Brand and head coach Nick Nurse were the main voices to deliver this message to Harden. Morey was nowhere to be seen during this confrontation.
This ended up being the final straw for Harden, as he once again reiterated that he did not want to be with the 76ers anymore and he did not follow their instructions upon remaining in Philadelphia, sources said.
When the team returned from their two-game road trip to begin the year, Harden was on the bench for their first home game, again speaking with his teammates and the coaching staff. However, he continued to avoid Morey and front office personnel, leading to owner Josh Harris getting involved and deciding to trade Harden to the Clippers.
A situation that could have ended a lot better than it did, James Harden and Daryl Morey are no longer on speaking terms. From Morey's perspective, he is still very thankful for his time with Harden.
These feelings do not appear to be the same from Harden, as he has moved on and no longer wants anything to do with his former executive and best friend.
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