James Harden Sat Down With The Athletic And Aired Out All The Dirty Laundry Of Why He Demanded A Trade To The Clippers

Tim Nwachukwu. Getty Images.

Once James Harden finally got his wish and was traded to the Clippers, it was only a matter of time before he sat down and aired out all the dirty laundy of that whole fiasco. It wasn't really a matter of "if', it was more a matter of "when".

Well, today is that day. Sitting down with The Athletic, James Harden let it rip on everything. From the beef with Morey, to why he called Morey a liar, the Houston rumors all of it. 

If you remember, it was pretty shocking when our timelines were hit with this video

In late August, it came out that Harden did that because Morey supposedly promised to trade him quickly, which of course didn't happen

As it turns out, according to James Harden there was actually more to the story than just that angle. Now of course whenever this stuff comes out it's obviously going to be extremely one sided, so take everything with a grain of salt. I'm sure there's some truth and some things that are not so true mixed in, so let's have a look. 

Right off the bat, we got a pretty interesting nugget

So you mention the financial part, and I was hoping you could clarify one aspect of that situation. Were you actually told by the Sixers that you had that deal coming?

A max?

Yeah.

Yeah.

That was said by Daryl?

Yes. Yes.

Alright, so this is pretty interesting. Promising James Harden a max so that he would sign for a lesser deal at the time and then not giving him said max is king of messed up, but at the same time his play didn't exactly warrant that max after the Sixers second round loss. The timing of all this is important, which Harden also clarified

To clarify, were you told that you would get the max after you gave that money back so they could get P.J. (Tucker) and…

… De’Anthony Melton. Danuel House.

But timing-wise, when did Daryl tell you that you’d be getting the max?

Well, the time that’s important was before the playoffs started (last season). He had conversations with my representation.

When reached about Harden’s claim, a Sixers team source denied this was the case

Yeah, I'm pretty sure you can't do that. At the same time, let's not forget what James Harden said when this all went down back in 2022. Remember, he wanted credit for taking a paycut!

Advertisement

So really, that was all bullshit? He didn't really take the discount because he wanted to be a good teammate and help the Sixers build out their roster because he's such a good guy and such a great teammate. He did it because Morey supposedly promised him the max? That certainly changes things a little bit. You can't have it both ways. You can't talk about how you deserve credit for doing something and then a few years later say you actually only did it because you were promised the max. That feels a little contradictory.

I'm also not sure you're even allowed to do that as a team. That feels like it's against the CBA. If this is in fact true, and a max was promised, I can understand why that person would then be upset when that deal is pulled off the table. At the same time, don't have a horrendous postseason and maybe things turn out differently. 

Then you get to the part where Harden could have just opted out and gone wherever he wanted in free agency. You'll remember, he opted into his $35M player option

You took a lot of flak for choosing to opt in rather than just getting your freedom in free agency, but you wound up getting paid and getting where you wanted to go too. I assume you had a good read on the market and knew it would look a whole lot different financially if you’d gone that route?

It would have looked different for sure. The teams that are growing, or young, were gonna have the money, but that doesn’t make sense. And then the competitive teams don’t have the money. So all in all, it would have probably ended up with me looking Philly in the face again. So it was strategic, and people can talk and say (things), but they have no idea (without being) in this situation. Like I continue to say, I made the best decision for myself and my family.

Pretty simple. He knew that $35M dollar offer was not out there for him this summer. It's much easier for him to opt in, get his money and then do what he's done so many times before and just demand his way to the team he wants. It worked too! Harden essentially tells you that in that response. It was strategic. What do we think the strategy was?

Get the money AND end up where you want to be. 

So, now that things have been settled for a while, how are things going for Harden? Well I guess it all depends. From an individual standpoint, Harden is averaging 15.7/4.4/6.4 on 46/40% splits as a Clipper. Not terrible numbers given all the talent on that team and how much everyone needs the ball.

From a team standpoint?

They're just 9-10 on the season and currently sit in 9th in the West. Since Harden got there and played his first game as a Clipper on 11/6, the team has gone 6-8. Over those 14 games they have the

23rd ranked offense

9th ranked defense

18th ranked net rating

and this is WITH Kawhi and Paul George playing in all 19 games this season. One would think all their best players being available would translate to wins, but look at those rankings. A 6-8 record and some pretty average rankings outside of the defense. I'm pretty sure the Clippers didn't trade for Harden for his defensive ability, so that's probably a bit of a concern.

In the end, the Sixers will probably never comment on this stuff, so we'll never actually know the truth as to whether or not this max was offered. It doesn't surprise me that Harden was the first to get this out there, because as we know the narrative is always the most important thing. Sadly, given how he's played the last few years combined with all the antics, I'm not sure anyone is going to feel sorry for him or even give a shit even if Morey did lie.

Now he's the Clippers problem, because they're going to have to do the same exact thing this summer once Harden's current deal expires. He clearly still views himself as a max player, and the Clippers are going to have to pony up or they lose the asset for nothing.