James Harden ruffled a few feathers after calling out publicly calling out Sixers president Daryl Morey while in China and an NBA insider has broken down the reasons why he did it.
It is no secret that Harden wants to be traded to the Clippers but unless the 76ers get some assets that will help them chase a championship, their interest isn’t really there, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski says.
“Sixers really have not had any real interest in trading James Harden,” Wojnarowski said. “They can’t get value back that continues to allow them to be a contender. And essentially, they pulled him off the market on Saturday, they called the Clippers, told them ‘we’re not gonna talk about a trade anymore.’
“The two sides never got anywhere anyway, and then James Harden comes out earlier today [calling Morey a liar]. This has been escalating behind the scenes all year, now it is playing out in public. James Harden’s goal is to make the Sixers so uncomfortable that they just decide that they cannot bring him back to training camp and they do a trade….”
It seems as though Harden thinks publicly shaming Morey will help him leave the organisation but according to NBA insider Marc Stein, it hasn’t helped things along at all.
“We appear to be headed for quite a standoff, since league sources say that the Sixers remain determined to trade Harden only if they find a deal that keeps them in the title mix,” Stein said.
Much like Damin Lillard, the team Harden is trying to be traded away from holds all the cards.
The veteran pair both remain in their own special stalemates, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst believes.
“I don’t think there’s any active trade talks in the NBA right now,” Windhorst said on his The Hoop Collective podcast on Monday. “Certainly not active for Dame Lillard. And I don’t think there’s anything active for James Harden.”
Will it be Harden or Lillard who throws the next tantrum to try and get their way?
Only time will tell.
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