James Harden pulled no punches and called 76ers president Daryl Morey a liar (at an event in China, where Morey is already loathed).
Morey’s reaction to things getting personal? A shrug.
The words change nothing, not for Morey personally or the 76ers plan to call off trade talks and bring Harden to training camp. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer had the details via a source with the organization.
A league source said Morey was not surprised by Harden’s commentary and his attempt to make things personal given his agent’s reaction this past weekend to being informed that the Sixers weren’t able to find a suitable deal…
To sum everything up: Nothing has changed on the Harden trade front. League sources had previously told NBC Sports Morey was acting like someone who didn’t really want to trade Harden, and maybe that was true — if things were patched up with Harden and he was running with MVP Joel Ebmiid, the 76ers would be title contenders. Morey may have been hoping for that outcome, but instead we get a training camp showdown with Harden where the questions are will he show up, and if he does, how big a distraction will he be?
Expect a lot more drama between now and 76ers media day and the start of training camp on Oct. 2. Just don’t expect a lot of movement on the actual trade front until then, right now there is no pressure on anyone to compromise and change their stance.
No matter what words are said.
