There has been so much speculation surrounding James Harden and 76ers president Daryl Morey’s fallout for months, and now Harden himself has revealed what caused all the drama.
Harden publicly called out Morey in August and called him “a liar”, while vowing to “will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of”.
The relationship breakdown seemed to be about Morey promising Harden a max deal and the money that comes with it, which Morey then reneged on.
The Sixers or Harden never actually confirmed this, but all has since been revealed by The Beard.
The 10-time All-Star was this week asked by The Athletic‘s Sam Amick if Morey told him he would be getting a max contract, to which Harden answered, “Yeah”.
When asked if he could pinpoint the time when he knew that contract wasn’t coming his way, Harden explained in detail.
“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. (They’d talk about) ‘How do we get better?’ And that’s been going on for 10-plus years, you know what I mean? 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. And just like he has to do what’s best for his organization, I’ve got to do what’s best for me and my family. It’s as simple as that.
Another puzzling piece to the story was why Harden still chose to opt-in with the 76ers over the summer after Morey betrayed him, instead of hitting free agency.
“It would have looked different for sure,” Harden told The Athletic. “The teams that are growing, or young, were gonna have the money, but that doesn’t make sense.”
“And then the competitive teams don’t have the money. So all in all, it would have probably ended up with me looking Philly in the face again. So it was strategic, and people can talk and say (things), but they have no idea (without being) in this situation. Like I continue to say, I made the best decision for myself and my family.”
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