James Harden is out here causing chaos but ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins has sent a warning to Harden as his recent actions may affect his NBA career in the worst way.
In case you have been living under a rock, Harden caused a stir this week when he was in China by calling Sixers president Daryl Morey a liar and vowed to never play under him again.
This came after the 76ers pulled Harden off the market because they clearly didn’t want the assets they were being offered.
But the only reason Harden opted in was to facilitate a trade to the Clippers, which Morey said he would do.
Reckless behaviour like Harden’s can stay with you and Perkins believes it could have dire consequences on The Beard’s career moving forward.
“You went and criticized a guy, a friend that value you more than anybody in the league,” Perkins said on ESPN. “James Harden has everything to lose, and if he’s not careful, he could possibly be out of the league after next year. Because here’s the thing: You can’t trust him. He’s been disgruntled in the last four out of five years. …The NBA don’t need him. … They move on from old superstars. They have a bunch of young superstars coming in every single year that can replace him.”
The ten-time All-Star has a history of throwing tantrums at teams to get his way.
His old coach at the Rockets, Kevin McHale weighed in on the dramas this week and recalled having a similar situation in Houston after the 2015 playoffs.
McHale benched Harden in the fourth quarter of Game 6 against the Clippers, which they went on to win and Harden played well in Game 7 but he didn’t let the benching slide.
“The next year he came to camp, he was fat and didn’t feel like playing, and I got fired (11) games into the season,” McHale told Heavy Sports. “He had a plan.”
The former coach also explained what he thinks may have gone on behind the scenes in Philly.
“James wanted a big extension from Philly, and Philly wouldn’t give it to him, and that’s not a Daryl decision,” McHale said. “Daryl’s got a part of that, of course, but that’s an owner decision. So (Harden) was really mad, saying Daryl lied to him, but, you know, maybe they saw Game 7 against the Celtics (9 points on 3-for-11 shooting in a 24-point loss) and said, ‘I’m not interested in that.’
“I think Daryl would have probably tried to extend him and keep everything happy. But as far as trading him goes, you know, Daryl gets stubborn. It’s going to be interesting.”