Source: Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images / Getty
But much of said drama facing the league now is caused by the contentious relationship between
James Harden and the
Philadelphia 76ers’ president of basketball operations.
Harden’s been pulling GOAT stunts all summer, but now he’s finally opened up about his actual beef with Morey.
He begins by saying he still expects to play this season but doesn’t think he and Morey will ever be on good terms again.
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“No. This is not even about this situation — this is in life,” Harden told
ESPN. “When you lose trust in someone, it’s like a marriage … you lose trust in someone, you know what I mean? It’s pretty simple.”
Harden is careful never to mention Morey by name, instead referring to him as the “front office” as he hammers home that the relationship goes back over a decade and is bigger than basketball.
It was 11 years ago, amid Morey’s tenure as the
Houston Rockets GM, when he helped enact a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder to acquire Harden. With the young core of Harden,
Kevin Durant, and
Russell Westbrook broken up, Harden began to grow into his own and became an offensive powerhouse. Now, after winning the NBA MVP award in 2018, the relationship with Morey has soured.
“Me and the front office had a very, very good relationship for a decade,” Harden said. “There was constant communication, you know what I mean? There was no communication once we lost.”
Harden did opt into his $35.6 million player option over the summer but immediately requested a trade, which has yet to be granted. Not to say he hasn’t tried, like when he called Morey a liar while attending an event in China and added that he could “never be a part of an organization that he’s [Morey] a part of.” Then, days later, in an interview with
KHOU 11 News Houston, he said his relationship with Morey and the 76ers “is beyond repair.”
But now that time has passed, it appears he’s making it work for now and looks to ramp up his preseason play to prep for the 2023-24 season just weeks away.
See how social media’s reacting to Harden speaking on his disdain for Morey below.
