ESPN’s NBA Insider Ramona Shelbourne sent a warning to the Philadelphia 76ers regarding the drama surrounding James Harden.
“This is only the beginning,” says Shelbourne. The star guard continues to bring the heat and ramp up the pressure on Morey.
Harden has made it known that he does not plan to play for the 76ers (or any franchise) as long as general manager Daryl Morey is part of the organization. He is not happy with the way contract negotiations were handled this offseason after taking a pay cut last season to help improve the roster.
As the situation progresses, it will be interesting to see who blinks first. Both sides seem to have dug their feet into the ground as both Harden and Morey are not new to being in uncomfortable situations.
Morey was in a long standoff with former 76er, Ben Simmons, which lasted nearly an entire calendar year before Simmons was finally traded (for James Harden). When Simmons initially began to make his frustrations with the franchise known, Morey warned people to “…buckle in, this is going to go a long time…”
When Morey and Harden worked together during their time with the Houston Rockets, the latter wanted to be traded to the Brooklyn Nets and forced his way out of Houston by showing up out of shape and uninterested to the point that the former’s hand was forced. Harden ultimately ended up using a similar tactic to reunite with Morey in Philadelphia and is now requesting to be traded to his fourth team in as many years.
