Now, with his latest comments, Harden seems to be doubling down and suggesting that he and Morey had a handshake agreement on a new contract extension last offseason, when Harden opted out of a $47 million player option and took a $14 million discount to re-sign, which enabled the Sixers to sign P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr. The NBA conducted a tampering investigation and docked the Sixers second-round picks in 2023 and 2024 for early talks with Tucker and House, but from all the confiscated phones and emails, the league found no evidence of an agreement on a long-term contract between Harden and the Sixers. If Morey truly made a promise, why would Harden start angling to leave two months into last season? Beginning with a Christmas Day leak to ESPN, Harden was playing footsie with the Rockets for a potential reunion in free agency. Who would do that if they felt confident about a forthcoming deal? -via The Ringer / August 15, 2023
