James Harden reveals Daryl Morey's radio silence after baiting him with max deal on 76ers resulted in sudden trade
James Harden left the Philadelphia 76ers a few weeks ago and moved to the LA Clippers. The reason for his departure was the franchise's unwillingness to offer him a new deal and his turbulent relationship with the Sixers' president, Daryl Morey.
It appears that Morey initially promised the former NBA MVP to offer him a max contract, but he never fulfilled his promise and that's why Harden went on to ask for a trade.
"Were you actually told by the Sixers that you had that deal coming?" Sam Amick of The Athletic asked James Harden, with the All-Star guard responding: "Yeah."
Daryl Morey's denial to offer Harden a new contract led the latter to call him a 'liar' back in August. The star made it clear that he would not play for Philadelphia again as long as Morey was in charge.
James Harden says Daryl Morey's 'lack of respect' led to the end of their relationship
In his interview with Sam Amick, Harden talked in detail about what went wrong in his relationship with Daryl Morey and forced him out of Philadelphia. Harden called the 'lack of respect' from Morey's side as the main reason for his trade request.
"We talked about a lot of s--t. And we've got a lot of s--t that, in front of people's eyes, you don't know or understand. But instead of (Morey) having a conversation with me (about free agency) or saying, 'All right James, we don't want to offer you this, but we have this.' Then we go back and forth, and that's a dialogue," James Harden said, via Bleacher Report.
"But you just ice me out? Then it's like, you don't respect me as much as I thought you did. You don't need people like that, you know what I mean? So it's just bad karma. People were throwing dirt on my name, but the good guys always win."
Moving forward, Harden is still trying to find his place in the Clippers' rotation and build chemistry with his megastar teammates: Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
Still, the Clippers continue to struggle with just nine wins over their first 19 games and six wins over their last 10 games.
For their part, the Sixers have been playing well after Harden's departure and are currently fourth in the East with 12 wins and seven losses. With Tyrese Maxey now the No.2 option behind reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid, Philadelphia aims for a deep playoff run and a shot in the championship.