In his quest to get traded by the Philadelphia 76ers, star guard James Harden escalated things even further by vowing to never play for team president Daryl Morey again.
Harden recently hosted a basketball camp in China. On Monday morning, a video was posted online showing the 33-year-old attempt to burn the bridge with the Sixers once and for all.
“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,” Harden said while giving a speech in front of fans. “Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”
James Harden just said this twice in China: Daryl Morley is a liar, I will never be a part of an organization that he is part of it. pic.twitter.com/0nVoaNcMYL
— MoreSteph (@XuanwongMilan) August 14, 2023
The strong statement drew cheers from the crowd. It’s important to note that Morey isn’t popular in China after posting a tweet in support of protestors in Hong Kong in 2019.
It’s unclear what Harden is referring to. Some Chinese fans may interpret it as Morey being a liar for supporting Hong Kong’s fight for its independence as part of the “one country, two systems” directive in China.
Others have speculated that he was referring to contract talks with Morey. Harden notably took a $15 million pay cut ahead of the 2022-23 season to give allow the team to sign key role players. It’s been assumed that Harden did so with the expectation that Morey — under whom Harden played with the Houston Rockets — would show his appreciation by offering him a max contract during the 2023 offseason.
Unfortunately for Harden, that offer hasn’t been presented and it’s likely due to his disappointing performance in the most recent postseason. He had the chance to opt out of the final year of his current contract, but he instead decided to opt in and demand a trade.
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