Daryl Morey surprisingly still aims to keep James Harden after latter publicly calls him a liar
The James Harden-Philadelphia 76ers love story seemed to have ended abruptly, with Harden seeking a move to the west, particularly the Los Angeles Clippers. "The Beard" made it abundantly clear he wanted to leave and so began all the trade rumors. But everything slowly ground to a halt.
Everything changed when Harden had some choice words for Morey while speaking at an Adidas media event in China:
“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of. Again, Let me say that Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization he’s part of.”
According to Jason Dumas, Daryl Morey is unmoved by the criticism. He is not entertaining any trade talks unless it makes the team stronger:
"Source: Daryl Morey is unmoved by James’ comments. He is holding firm in his stance that he will not trade him unless it makes the Sixers a better team. Meanwhile, I’m told James’ agent advised him against making that statement."
This is brewing up to be one of the uglier battles between a GM and a wantaway former MVP. We've seen this story happen many a time, and Harden himself forced his way out of two previous organizations in a similar fashion.
Morey on the other hand has handled superstars in every organization he's been on. From Boston to Houston to Philly, he's been the analytical whiz who's not been averse to causing a stir. He was also a part of the LeBron James-China controversy as well, so this isn't new for him.
James Harden has worked his way out of teams in a similar fashion
Right from when he was a sixth man on the Oklahoma City Thunder, James Harden has pushed his way up into better teams.
He enjoyed great success with the Houston Rockets, but each time failed at the final hurdle. After watching Morey fail to build a fully competent squad, he switched to the Eastern conference, opting to play for Brooklyn instead.
Alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, he was supposed to be the third prong to bring Brooklyn their first title since the renaming, but to no avail.
James Harden moved to Philadelphia in a similar fashion and looks to be on the move again.