James Harden spoke to NBA reporters on October 13 for the first time since requesting a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers. The 2017-18 MVP said he plans to play for the Sixers while also admitting that his relationship with Daryl Morey can’t be fixed.
“No,” Harden said when asked directly whether he thought things could get patched up with Morey. “This is not even about this situation — this is in life. When you lose trust in someone, it’s like a marriage … you lose trust in someone, you know what I mean? It’s pretty simple.”
Harden, who used to be very close with Morey, was fined $100,000 by the NBA for calling Morey “a liar” during his Adidas tour in China. Harden called Morey a liar since he wasn’t traded quickly after opting into his 2023-24 player option.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: James Harden, Daryl Morey, Philadelphia 76ers Updates
“Me and the front office had a very, very good relationship for a decade,” Harden said. “There was constant communication, you know what I mean? There was no communication once we lost.”
In 58 games for the Sixers last season, Harden averaged 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 10.7 assists. He led the NBA in assists per game for the second time in his career.
“I’ll ramp it up and try to play the last one just to get myself in game situations and get used to the physicality of defenders bumping you and whatnot,” Harden said. “The speed, the tempo, all that good stuff. So I think we’ve got a good plan in place.”
According to NBA insider Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Harden felt Morey ghosted him before free agency started. Rather than wait for Morey and the Sixers to present whatever offer they had come up with once free agency opened on July 1, Harden picked up his $35.6 million player option before the June 30 deadline and requested a trade.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: James Harden, Daryl Morey, Philadelphia 76ers Updates
“I’ve got to make a decision for my family,” Harden said. “This is a business. It’s as simple as that. I come in here today and work my butt off and do the things necessary as a professional as I would do and as I have been doing for 15 years. Like I said, I can control what I can control. I take it one day at a time, and focus on every day as a new day. My plan is to play basketball, yes, for sure.”
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