Give James Harden this much credit. He does tone deafness as well as he once played basketball.
On Monday, at an Adidas event in China, Harden crossed a particular rubicon in his summer-long simmering battle with the Philadelphia 76ers over his desire to be traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.
He went from things being strictly business to very, very personal.
“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,” he said, microphone in hand and his audience clearly intended to be well beyond that gym on the other side of the world. “Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”
That’s all well and good to say. But reality – especially Harden’s — offers some clear takeaways, and none are good for the faded, disgruntled former MVP.
That Harden isn’t used to people telling him no after growing accustomed to forcing his way to where he exactly wants to go. That Harden thinks contracts are a one-way street. And that Harden, who turns 34 later this month, misunderstands his value and his place in the game.
Let’s start with the rank hypocrisy of it all, this notion from Harden that Morey, or any other front-office figure running an NBA team, owes him anything beyond the words on his contract. It’s impossible to know if Morey lied to Harden about something big or small — Philly sources insist unequivocally he did not — but it doesn’t actually matter.
This is why teams and players enter into contracts: To be sure that what is agreed upon is certain, not up for debate, and not something that can be quibbled over later, when things don’t go to plan, people get angry, or minds change.
Remember: Harden opted into his $35.6 million player option earlier this summer. He had a clear path forward if he wanted to play somewhere else — like the Clippers — without having to worry about the Sixers’ view of things. But Harden wanted to have his cake, eat it, too, and get paid well beyond his market value.
It’s not the Sixers fault…
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