James Harden wanted to test free agency waters, and it backfired. He’s no longer a top-notch NBA player, and with not that much interest in meeting his financial aspirations, he had no choice but to opt in on the final year of his contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Harden did so in an attempt to get traded, but Sixers GM Daryl Morey — who was one of his closest friends — had a different plan in mind. Simply put, he doesn’t want to give him up.
That’s why Shams Charania reports that Harden’s relationship with Morey is no more, adding that the former MVP is still determined to force his way to the Los Angeles Clippers next season.
Harden Is Livid At The Sixers
“The relationship between James Harden and Daryl Morey is essentially severed; it’s essentially fractured throughout this process,” Charania said. “There’s no longer that vow of open-ended trust that we’ve seen over the course of 692 games that Daryl Morey and James Harden have been together.”
“When James Harden opted in, the decision to work together on a trade stemmed from James Harden believing that there was no real intention from the Sixers on giving him a long-term offer,” added Charania. “So everyone around the Sixers, they know he’s been incredibly unnerved about how the team has handled his potential free agency and we’ve seen how James Harden can come into camp when he’s disgruntled– right now, Harden is where he’s been for the last few weeks. He wants a trade and he wants a trade to the Clippers. Rival teams that I’ve spoken to still say that’s the path for the Sixers to go down but it’s gonna come down to those two teams engaging.”
Harden Wants To Play With Westbrook Again
Moreover, Clippers insider Joey Linn recently shed some light on Harden’s desire to play for the team, stating that he’s actually looking forward to teaming up with Russell Westbrook again.
“For what it’s worth, I’ve been told that James Harden’s desire to be traded to the Clippers was made even stronger once they officially re-signed Russell Westbrook. The two are still very close, and Harden wants to play with Russ again,” tweeted Linn.
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76ers" target to replace James Harden also monitored by Blazers as alternative to Damian Lillard
Westbrook and Harden go a long way back to their days with the Oklahoma City Thunder, so this makes sense. Then again, the team will have to make an offer that makes sense if they’re actually serious about trading for him.
