A major plot point for the Philadelphia 76ers heading into the 2023-24 season was James Harden's trade request, as it seemed like both sides refused to relent even an inch to the other party. In fact, the tensions ran so high to the point that Harden, in an Adidas event in China, went scorched earth on Sixers president Daryl Morey, calling him a “liar.”

As one would recall, the Sixers convinced Harden to opt into his contract for the 2023-24 season with the promise that they'll work on finding a trade that suits the Beard's demands. At the very least, Morey can hang his hat that he isn't a liar in that regard, as he granted Harden's wish for a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers. But Harden is still holding firm on his assertions that the Sixers president wasn't as forthright as he had hoped.

James Harden's bold Sixers max contract claim

James Harden, Daryl Morey, Sixers

In an interview with Sam Amick of The Athletic, James Harden said, point-blank, that Daryl Morey promised him a max contract and that they were already talking about how to improve the Sixers squad that lost in the second round to the Boston Celtics.

“Yeah, me and Daryl had a really good relationship. So (in the past), a week or two after we lose in the playoffs, it would be all about trying to figure out how to improve the team,” Harden said. “And then this year, there was no communication. And at that point, it’s like, ‘OK, I see what’s going on.’ I’m very intelligent. So then I just figure out ‘What’s my next move, and what do I want to do?’ So I understand that, at the end of the day, this is a business.”

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The Sixers are pushing back on this through Marc Stein, who said Monday a “Sixers source refuted” Harden's claim.

James Harden, during the 2022 offseason, took a pay cut just to facilitate the Sixers' acquisition of PJ Tucker, so it must have elicited feelings of betrayal when Daryl Morey became hesitant to give The Beard his desired contract. But at the very least, Harden has now gotten what he wanted, which was a trade to the Clippers, and the Sixers are flourishing in a post-Harden world thanks to the emergence of Tyrese Maxey.