20 Second Timeout

James Harden is as Good at Burning Bridges as He is at Bricking Playoff Three Pointers

I already wrote about James Harden's hubris and lack of loyalty, and I did not plan to write about Harden again unless/until the Philadelphia 76ers traded him or it was time to do my 2023-24 season preview articles. However, Harden pushed his way back into the headlines by declaring, "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." Harden declined to specify what he believes that Morey lied about, so Harden's claim cannot be assessed on its merits.

However, we learned that Morey is either a liar or delusional when he ranked Harden ahead of Michael Jordan as a scorer. In 2019, Chris Paul claimed that Morey lied to him with assurances that he would not be traded just days before Morey traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder. So, even though there is no public evidence that Morey lied to Harden it would not be shocking if Morey lied to Harden--and it would also not be shocking if Harden is lying, because Harden has a track record of burning any bridges that need to be burned to assure his hasty departure from teams for which he no longer wishes to play, and it is reasonable to believe that a person who will cheat the game by reporting to camp out of shape and not playing hard is a person who would lie to get his way.

Instead of leaving it to media members to speculate about why Harden blasted the man who is most responsible for Harden receiving generational wealth to flop and flail, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver or one of his deputies should ask Harden to specify what exactly Morey allegedly lied about. If Morey merely told Harden that he would trade him and then was unwilling or unable to trade him, there is nothing for the league office to be concerned about--but if Morey told Harden that if Harden took a pay cut (as Harden did) then he would be rewarded with a huge contract extension that is a violation of the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement, which has strict rules against making promises that would enable teams to keep a player for a cap-friendly deal and make up the difference later when that team's payroll does not exceed the salary cap. 

The publicly known facts are that in the summer of 2022 Harden did not utilize his player option for a $47.4 million contract for the 2022-23 season and he instead signed for $33 million plus a $35.6 million option for 2023-24; this summer, Harden exercised the $35.6 million option and then immediately demanded that the 76ers trade him. 

It is obvious that something does not add up here. If Harden believed that his market value is high then he would have declined his 2023-24 option and become a free agent, confident that his desired team would outbid the 76ers for his services; of course, Harden's pathetic elimination game resume--to which he added yet another awful stat line in 2023 (nine points, five turnovers, 3-11 field goal shooting in a game seven loss to Boston)--is just one of many reasons that no one is lining up for the "privilege" of paying Harden $40 million or more for the upcoming season only to see Harden pull off his annual playoff disappearing act. The most logical reason for Harden to turn down $47.4 million, take much less money, demand a trade, and criticize his greatest benefactor is if Harden believes that Morey promised to give him a huge, multi-year contract extension this summer; if Harden expected that to happen and Morey (or the 76ers' owners) said no, then it would make sense--at least from Harden's warped perspective of entitlement--that Harden would grab all of the money that he could (his player option) and angrily ask to be traded.

The larger point here is that--to use a politically incorrect phrase that is nevertheless apt--the inmates are running the asylum, which the great Julius Erving said recently when he explained why he left several of the best modern players off of his all-time greatest players list. The way that the system is supposed to work--in society as a whole, and in the NBA in particular--is that after two parties sign a contract both parties honor that contract. You may share my distaste for how LeBron James left Cleveland in 2010, but LeBron James waited until his contract expired and then he had every legal right to seek employment with a different team--but what James Harden, Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and other big name players have done in recent years is sign big money contracts and then not only demand a trade but also arrogantly assume that they have the right to pick where they are traded, in blatant violation of the terms of their contract.

We may never find out if Morey lied to Harden, but if Morey lied to Harden with promises of a big money deal then Harden would have to admit to breaking salary cap rules to prove that Morey lied. Harden may not have thought all of this through before he opened his bearded mouth and attacked his biggest fan, or Harden may just believe that if he makes the situation toxic enough then he will get his way, an approach that worked for him on his way out of first Houston and then Brooklyn.

Harden could have avoided all of this by declining his option and offering his services on the open market. The reason that Harden did not do that is the same reason that Lillard squeezed every penny out of the Portland Trail Blazers before demanding that the team trade him to Miami: both players know that they are not worth nearly as much on the open market as they would like to be paid. 

Harden and Lillard appear to believe that they can get away with not showing up for work until they are traded to their respective desired destinations, but any player who does not show up for training camp or who shows up for training camp looking like he is wearing a fat suit in preparation for portraying Professor Klump in "The Nutty Professor" should be suspended without pay. If I were Morey, I would tell Coach Nick Nurse to have Harden run laps for every missed shot and turnover in game seven versus Boston, and if Harden balked I would have him escorted out of the practice facility sans paycheck. The 76ers suspended Ben Simmons in a similar circumstance before trading him for Harden, but Harden has more power than Simmons so Philadelphia fans should brace themselves for a few games of "fat Harden" before the crisis reaches a boiling point and Morey ships Harden out. Maybe Morey will channel Michael Jordan and "take personally" Harden's public verbal assault on his character. Harden clearly thinks that he has all of the leverage, but maybe he has overplayed his hand and will be forced to "settle" for being paid over $35 million to play for Philadelphia next season.

I was a big 76ers fan as a kid, before I realized that I was more of a Julius Erving fan than a 76ers fan; after Erving retired, my attachment to the team faded, and then completely disappeared after Sam Hinkie attempted to "Tank to the Top" (an unfortunate book title which does not at all describe what happened). Reigning regular season MVP Joel Embiid is all that remains from Hinkie's infamous "Process," and it would be fascinating to hear Embiid's honest opinions about Harden and Morey. Of course, the oft-injured and never in top condition Embiid should perhaps lead a team past the second round of the playoffs before he points fingers at others.

It would be a fitting conclusion to the misguided "Process" if Embiid, Harden, and Morey all end up with teams other than the 76ers. I predicted that the 76ers would not win anything of consequence until they purged every remnant of Hinkie's reign of error, and I have not wavered an inch from that stance: franchises that spend seasons losing on purpose will not morph into champions because that is not how a championship culture is built.

Labels: Daryl Morey, James Harden, Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers, Sam Hinkie, tanking

posted by David Friedman @ 12:30 AM

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