The James Harden Philly saga just keeps getting uglier and now, Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris has spoken out about it.
Harden raised eyebrows when in China last week he claimed, “Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of” and then repeated himself for good measure.
Over the weekend, it was reported that the NBA have now launched an inquiry about Harden’s comments.
On Monday, Harris spoke about the dilemma the franchise finds themselves in and explained how he would love to see Harden stay with the team, even though he specifically requested to be traded to the Clippers.
“Listen, we’re hard at work,” Harris said. “I respect James. I want to, obviously, accommodate what he wants. At the same time, I have to think about a championship contending team, what we can get back. I’d love to convince him to stay. I understand that that’s not what he wants to do right now. I’m going to keep working to resolve it in a way that everyone can live with and is positive for everyone, whatever that resolution is…I respect him as a basketball player, and as a person. It’s back to, these are, you’re dealing with people, right? And you’ve got to be there. We’ll see where it comes out.”
The last we heard from Harden was on Friday where he told KHOU 11 News Houston that he believes that his relationship with 76ers president Morey and the Sixers franchise “is beyond repair.”
If a trade doesn’t happen, “a source close to Harden who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter told The Athletic that Harden’s plans have not changed following his mid-July trade request, and that he currently has no plans of taking part in training camp.”
Feels like a bit of a Ben Simmons situation, doesn’t it?
The 14-time All-Star may have bit off more than he can chew though because if he does continue down this road, he could be on track to receive the NBA’s biggest ever fine by far.