https://twitter.com/TheAthletic/status/1681091313930760193?t=dvkXBeqL8GzgLiAUDndq8Q&s=19
James Harden and Daryl Morey's relationship is severed and "essentially fractured," according to @ShamsCharania.
Harden has been "unnerved" about how the 76ers have handled his potential free agency and still wants to be traded to the Clippers.
If Morey promised Harden a handshake deal to which he reneged, I don’t blame Harden for his stance and still wanting to be traded.
it would likely have been for a near-max though, which doesn't make sense from morey's perspective.
harden can want what he wants, but he's just not the asset he once was. sooner or later he's going to have to realise that.
You’re completely right from an asset management perspective. I’m just commenting on the human element. If Morey promised and reneged, I can understand why he’s pissed and wants to be traded.
If Morey & Harden indeed hand-shook a near-max deal in order to do the 'temporary 2-year' contract, later reneging, then that's a pretty interesting situation I'd love to hear about as a fan. I guess the handshake deal isn't technically tampering under league rules, but if more info came out, it could still be explosive to some extent.
Still, that scenario's pretty extraordinary, and there's also the fact that Morey's historically been very loyal to Harden. Occam's Razor suggests that it's probably more a case of James just getting happy feet for the third time in a row.
It also works in to Harden's overall issues of being pretty headstrong about what he wants to do in the moment, such as completely neglecting his training for stretches in order to live the 'high life,' which is about as delicate a way as I can put it.