Assuming Harden took less money last year with the understanding that he would be made whole in free agency.
Dude for sure got paid for making this public statement and his cred in China is surely rising quite a bit from this. Not saying he doesn't hate Morey or he's lying (in fact I believe him), but Harden is the one guy who just never talk to the public on anything.
James Harden constantly doing whatever he can to alienate any and all support/allies/fans that he has, whether it's disappearing in big games, forcing his way out of franchises, pushing for bad roster moves, or now openly talking smack about his biggest booster in the NBA. I wanted to see this guy succeed so bad during his pre-Westbrook tenure as a Rocket. It's tragic. The greed of having made $300M in your career [on salary alone, not counting endorsements], making 26.4% of your team's cap after you just choked (again) 2 games in a row in epic fashion, and throwing a tantrum because you can't extort a team for the next supermax deal at age 33.
Promising something that you cannot deliver is called "lying". We shake hands on a deal to sell you my car, then I tell you "sorry, my wife won’t let me". What does that make me? Morey apologists here portray him like some innocent puppy, who wants to hold his end of the deal, but the evil owners overrule him. I see above the same argument for the “we’ll never trade Chris Paul" lie… Why is that not happening to other GMs? Why are two owners now forcing this person to go back on his word? I guess you can say he’s not a liar, he’s just a spineless weasel, catering to owner whims… I guess you count say that, but it’s a distinction without difference. Real men don’t give promises they can’t keep, and fight to make good on their word. Morey is a liar and a weasel, fact.
No he wouldn't. Where do people get this idea that Pop is some wizard? The man coached the same three players most of his career (Duncan, Ginobli and Parker). Everyone other top level player that played for Pop left. Don't ask Kahwi what he thinks about Pop. There is a reason Pop is still waiting to get back to the playoffs. Guys like Duncan, a quiet, soft spoken superstar who is willing to defer to his coach, only come along once in a generation. Remember, even Dream got Bill Fitch and Don Chaney fired.
Real men paint their fingernails because they don't care about @NewAge opinion about "real men" because they aren't trying to get laid by @NewAge
I'm shocked that you somehow got that from my post. I'm not defending him, he is a liar. I didn't say otherwise and it certainly wasn't a defense of Morey.
No he wouldn't. Where do people get this idea that Pop is some wizard? The man coached the same three players most of his career (Duncan, Ginobli and Parker). Everyone other top level player that played for Pop left. Don't ask Kahwi what he thinks about Pop. There is a reason Pop is still waiting to get back to the playoffs. Guys like Duncan, a quiet, soft spoken superstar who is willing to defer to his coach, only come along once in a generation. Remember, even Dream got Bill Fitch and Don Chaney fired. Who cares what Morey did in the past. Remember, sports is a business, and in business, it is all about "what have you done for me lately." I mean, how many times have you seen great players past their primes get traded or cut? Morey is especially bad. Sorry, I don't want to hear that BS.
Exactly. I mean, how many times have we been told how smart and savvy Morey is? He went to MIT, he invented data analytics in sports, yada yada. Please. He can take his double chin and go teach at an MBA program at Villanova, and leave running a basketball team to actual basketball people. When Embiid demand he gets fired or trade him, then Morey will find out about real power.
Exactly. I mean, how many times have we been told how smart and savvy Morey is? He went to MIT, he invented data analytics in sports, yada yada. Please. He can take his double chin and go teach at an MBA program at Villanova, and leave running a basketball team to actual basketball people. When Embiid demand he gets fired or trade him, then Morey will find out about real power.
Money thought that in FA, Harden would find he is not a max player and they could work a deal out. Harden panicked and opted in. This is 100% James Harden. Good Riddance! DD
If you're Philly, I think I'd let James walk at this point. Any GM you bring in to make him happy will be tasked with giving him an absurd contract that will cripple you financially for several years. Better to let him walk and have a ton of cap room next year to build around Embiid with players that actually fit an identify you want to create as a franchise. Philly needs to start from scratch and build around Embiid, not anchor themselves to a toxic, past-his-prime Beard who's going to beg for a trade 6-12 months from now anyway. Also, if Philly does cave here to James' demands, I think it makes them look weak as a franchise. You shouldn't cater to any star to this degree, but definitely not one who's barely a top 20-25 player anymore and will be 34 when the season starts.
First of all, Harden doing this in China where Morey is enemy #1 is crazy. Second, Morey has lied before; he left the rockets sighting family reasons and then immediately joined the sixers
In a weird way Morey forced Harden to opt in. Correct me if I am wrong. The opt in dead line was June 29, and FA begins June 30th. Morey did not have any discussion with Harden's camp prior to June 30th. Because Houston did not offer Harden a Max, he had to opt in to guarantee his money for this year. Typically teams would be already be in communications with their players prior to actual FA, but 76ers FO were silent and only promised to meet with Harden AFTER June 30th to negotiate, thus eliminating his ability to opt in.
