James Harden spoke about his departure from the Philadelphia 76ers in an exclusive interview with Sam Amick of The Athletic. In an interview, Harden admitted that he believes his promise to sign a max contract during the 2023 offseason was broken. After it became clear that the Sixers were preparing a below-maximum offer, Harden decided to accept a $35.6 million contract despite requesting a trade.
Harden was asked to explain his thought process when deciding to leave the Sixers and whether he always intended to commit to the Los Angeles Clippers.
“It was about trying to get to a situation where I could get paid and obviously have a chance to win at the highest level,” Harden said. “Over the last few years I’ve sacrificed a lot, whether it’s in my role or financially, and for now that’s over. I just want to move on and have the opportunity to make money and obviously win. ” at the highest level. ”
Amick asked Harden if the Sixers told him he was close to a contract.
“Max?” Harden answered.
Harden responded, “Yes,” and acknowledged what Daryl Morey had said.
However, after the playoff loss, Morey stopped communicating with Harden.
“Yeah, me and Darryl had a really good relationship, so[in the old days]after we lost in the playoffs, we would spend a week or two just trying to figure out how to make the team better. That went on for over 10 years, you know what I mean? And this year, I didn’t hear anything. At that point, I was like, “Okay, so what?” I was like, “I know what’s going on.” I’m very smart, so I think about what I’m going to do next, what I want to do next. I understand that at the end of the day, this is a business, and just like he has to do what’s best for his organization, I also have to do what’s best for me and my family. must be done. It’s that simple. ”
Later in the interview, Harden claimed that Morey spoke to his agent about a contract before the start of last season’s playoffs. Sixers officials denied the allegations to The Athletic.
Harden reflected on his unique relationship with Morey and how it ended.
“Yeah,” Harden said. “It was really surprising. You know what I mean? I thought of it like a marriage. We talked about a lot of things. And we talked about a lot of things. , it’s in front of people, but it’s not like (Morley) talked to me (about free agency) or said, “Okay, James, we don’t want to offer you this, but we instead of saying, “I have this.” Then we go back and forth and that’s the dialogue. But did you just leave me cold? Then it seems you don’t respect me as much as I thought you did. I don’t need people like that, you know what I’m thinking? “What do you mean? I mean, it’s just bad karma. Even though people were throwing dirt on my name. , the good guys always win.”
Harden doesn’t plan on restarting with Morey anytime soon.
“There’s too much money, too much respect (lost), too much loyalty to even double back (with Morley). There’s nothing to talk about. There’s nothing to talk about. This is a real It’s money.”
