James Harden may have to play for 76ers again even if he thinks Daryl Morey is a 'liar'
This is Layup Lines, by Bryan Kalbrosky
The Philadelphia 76ers have reportedly ended trade talks for James Harden and plan to bring him back to training camp to start next season.
His potential exit from Philadelphia was always messy, but it somehow got significantly messier when Harden publicly aired his grievances about 76ers executive Daryl Morey. Despite the two having a longstanding relationship from their shared time with the Houston Rockets, it appears the two are no longer on good terms.
While speaking to a crowd in China, the Philadelphia guard called Morey a "liar" and said he would never play again for the Sixers president again:
"Daryl Morey is a liar, and I will never be a part of an organization that he's a part of. 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."
There is one big problem, though. If the front office decides not to trade Harden, he won't exactly have a choice in the matter. My colleague Mike Sykes had a full explainer on the clause last month, but the short version is fairly simple.
If a player decides to withhold playing services for more than 30 days while in the final year of his contract, he cannot sign with a new team in the NBA (or any other professional basketball league) until the original team explicitly agrees to let him out of his contract.
Harden accepted his player option earlier this offseason, which means he is in the final year of his contract. So the CBA dictates that he will have to play for Philadelphia until he completes his last year of service with the organization.
So even though the Clippers are the overwhelming favorites to land Harden, he isn't heading to L.A. unless Philadelphia is offered a suitable return for his services.
Considering that they surrendered former No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons and two first-round picks in order to land Harden in 2022, it's unlikely that they decide to punt on the asset for pennies on the dollar just to appease him.
Especially because if the return is not satisfactory for Harden, the team could risk losing NBA MVP Joel Embiid to a similar trade request at some point in the near future.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the Paste BN Sports network.
Paste BN Sports Media Group writer Cameron Tabatabaie once again linked up with head of lifestyle and content marketing for 2K Sports, Ronnie Singh, better known as Ronnie 2K. They discussed the game itself and the upcoming 2023-24 NBA season:
We’re really excited. Obviously, it’s a big one for us. Twenty-five years of history is a lot to celebrate and a lot to be excited about.
Of course, you gotta lead with cross-play. We’re letting the community come together, Playstation, Xbox — doesn’t matter. You are just playing together and really trying to find out who the best players are regardless of console. That should be really fun to see.
With Kobe on the cover and getting to pay homage to him again, that’s very exciting, too.
It’s just that time of year when we get really amped at our offices because we’re on the verge of just dropping a ton of info, and we can’t wait for the community to see it and react.
This was a fun conversation!
Shootaround
— Gregg Popovich's reaction to almost getting played off the stage during his Basketball Hall of Fame speech was priceless
— Dwyane Wade gave his dad an absolutely incredible tribute in his Basketball Hall of Fame induction speech
— How would Celtics legends Larry Bird and Kevin McHale fare if they played in the NBA of today?
— HoopsHype ranked the top small forwards for the upcoming season