James Harden has had his fair share to say this offseason around his ongoing trade demand, but Friday afternoon was the first time he addressed the media directly. The Philadelphia 76ers guard took the time to sit down with the media following the day’s practice and addressed many of the issues on the minds of those paying close attention to the situation.
Among this, Harden spoke plainly, addressing whether or not his relationship with “the front office,” that being president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, could ever be restored.
“For me, it’s just trusting people you’ve known for over a decade… When I got traded here, my whole thing was I wanted to retire a Sixer. I wanted to be here and retire a Sixer, and the front office didn’t have that in their future plans. It’s literally out of my control.
It’s something I didn’t want to happen, being in this position. But I’ve got to make a decision for my family. Understand that this is a business; it’s just as simple as that. Come in here today, work my butt off, and do the things necessary as a professional as I would do, and that I’ve been doing for 15 years.”
Both sides of this drama have made their own stories known over the course of the summer. The narrative out of Philadelphia has been that the team, who has not denied the idea that they did not approach Harden ahead of free agency, only did so to avoid repeating the tampering charges they faced after signing P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr. last offseason.
Judging by both Harden’s words on the subject and his actions this offseason, he feels quite differently about the team’s motives.
Harden would go on, saying, “Me and the front office had a very, very good relationship like I said for a decade,” Harden said. “There was constant communication. There was no communication once we lost.”
The change in the relationship between Harden and the front office [Morey], whether or not one or both sides were justified, has effectively eliminated any chance that Harden would retire as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, as he stated was his desire.
Some further context to the Harden situation
Whether or not that was truly the case could be up for debate, but it is not unfair to suggest that salary expectations have also impacted the relationship. Since December of 2022, rumors circulated connecting Harden to the Houston Rockets, one of just two teams—the other being the Utah Jazz—who had the space to compete with Philadelphia and sign Harden to his long-desired max contract.
Unfortunately for Harden, despite reported interest by the franchise, the Rockets did not pursue him past a brief conversation with head coach Ime Udoka, who preferred the fit of former Raptor Fred Van Vleet.
With the Houston card no longer in play, the Sixers not actively pursuing contract negotiations, and the darkhorse candidate, the Phoenix Suns, acquiring Bradley Beal, Harden was running out of options ahead of the deadline to opt into his remaining year with Philadelphia. This led to Harden not only deciding to opt in but also to demand a trade to his hometown team, the Los Angeles Clippers.
Context-shmontext though. The key takeaway for the time being is that it appears Harden will play for Philadelphia until he is dealt, but he has no future with the team as long as Daryl Morey, known to his friends as “the front office,” is a part of the organization.
More updates to come…
