For better or worse, Philadelphia 76ers’ All-Star guard James Harden has dominated the NBA offseason storylines aplenty.
It’s been nearly two months since Harden requested a trade from the 76ers. The 2018 league MVP even turned down the chance to enter free agency and opted into his $35.6 million player option for 2023-24 with the belief it would help Philadelphia facilitate a trade.
During one of his stops on a tour in China earlier this week, Harden made headlines when he said 76ers’ president of basketball operations Daryl Morey “is a liar”. Harden made it clear that he wishes to not be in the same organization as Morey.
Per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Harden hinted at the idea of leaving the NBA to play basketball in China.
“Every time I come here, the love is just like…it’s crazy, you know what I mean?” Harden said. “So I feel like they deserve to actually see me come play here. Love is always crazy here.”
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Ahead of the 2022 trade deadline, the 76ers traded another disgruntled All-Star in Ben Simmons and additional assets to the Brooklyn Nets in a blockbuster deal that brought Harden over to Philadelphia.
Despite the dynamic duo of Harden and Joel Embiid (this year’s MVP winner), Philadelphia has still failed to get past the second round of the postseason with this promising core. Head coach Doc Rivers was fired after this year’s postseason elimination and replaced by Nick Nurse, who coached the Toronto Raptors to a championship in 2018-19.
Last season, Harden averaged 21 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in 58 contests.
