Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid and James Harden have different perspectives of the recently traded guard’s time with the Philadelphia 76ers.
In his introductory news conference with the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, Harden addressed why he wanted out of the 76ers so desperately. Quickly recapping his beef with the front office, the 10-time All-Star introduced the novel concept that Philadelphia stifled his offensive creativity by keeping him on a leash. “I’m not a system player. I am a system,” Harden added.
Embiid responded to that claim from the locker room after a 114-99 win over the Toronto Raptors Thursday night. It was his first media availability since Harden’s long-awaited trade, prompting reporters to ask if he was aware of Harden’s discontent.
“I don’t think so,” Embiid responded.
Embiid went on to say that his former teammate’s inclination of misuse likely came from his feelings toward the coaching staff and Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey. Tension reached a peak this summer when Harden declared “Daryl Morey is a liar” in front of a crowd in China.
But Morey wasn’t calling the shots on the court, and Embiid countered by implying Harden had full freedom in the 76er’s offense.
“In my opinion, we gave him the ball every single possession, because he’s really good. He’s an amazing player. Obviously, being that great of a passer, I think we gave him the ball,” he said. “We’d give him the ball every single possession to just go out and, you know, do his thing. And from there he had to make decisions as far as getting guys open or looking out for himself.”
There are plenty of variations of the phrase “We gave him the ball,” in Embiid’s full answer:
Embiid gave a long answer on Harden’s comments today. Lot of Harden praise.
“We allowed him to just be himself, and we gave him the ball on every single possession. Because he’s really good. He’s an amazing player. I’m not that great of a passer, [so] we gave him the ball.” pic.twitter.com/biB7peKXKL
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) November 3, 2023
Ultimately, Harden came away from last season with the most assists in the NBA and his lowest usage rate since 2012. Embiid, who garnered the regular-season MVP title and led the league in scoring, thinks Harden did his part for the team.
“Maybe that would’ve been a discussion between the coaches and him,” Embiid said. “But I thought he did a pretty good job of getting us into an offense and just passing the ball, getting guys open.”
The former part of Embiid’s statement seems to be the most important. Harden elaborated on Wednesday that his limitations weren’t necessarily scoring-related. He didn’t feel that he could communicate with former Sixers coach Doc Rivers about his ideas during a game.
Last season, Rivers led the team to seven losses in the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Boston Celtics. It was the fifth time in six seasons that Philadelphia fell in the second round of the playoff, leading the organization to hire Nick Nurse in May.
Harden opted into his $35.6 million player option a month later. Then, he requested a trade to the Clippers that didn’t come to fruition until Tuesday.
“I’m happy that the situation got resolved, and I’m happy for him. It’s all business.” Embiid said on Thursday. “I hope he has a chance to succeed, make a lot of money, play good basketball and be able to win.”
Embiid gave a long answer on Harden’s comments today. Lot of Harden praise.
“We allowed him to just be himself, and we gave him the ball on every single possession. Because he’s really good. He’s an amazing player. I’m not that great of a passer, [so] we gave him the ball.” pic.twitter.com/biB7peKXKL
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) November 3, 2023
After Embiid lightheartedly said that he hopes they both make it to the NBA Finals and Harden loses, he reflected on what could’ve been.
“I still believe we had a chance. We were right there, especially with the team that we have right now. What he is able to add and what he has done, what we’ve allowed him to do, which, we gave the ball every single possession,” Embiid reiterated. “It’s unfortunate, but we’ve got to just move on and we’ve got a good group of guys that can grow and keep getting better.”
Tobias Harris and Kelly Oubre Jr. highlighted the strength of this year’s 76ers on Thursday as both scored 23 points in the win.