We all know that James Harden no longer wants to play for the Philadelphia 76ers.
But no one is entirely sure what sort of behind-the-scenes drama went down to cause Harden’s strong desire to leave the team.
He is now opening up a little bit about what went awry with the Sixers
According to Kyle Neubeck, courtesy of Hoop Central, Harden revealed how the dysfunction began.
“When I got traded here, my whole thing is I wanted to retire a Sixer. I wanted to be here and retire a Sixer. And the front office didn’t have that in their future plans,” Harden said.
James Harden:
“When I got traded here, my whole thing is I wanted to retire a Sixer. I wanted to be here and retire a Sixer. And the front office didn’t have that in their future plans.”
(via @KyleNeubeck) pic.twitter.com/5Fe1XPDi5u
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 13, 2023
That’s a very vague statement and Harden didn’t get into the specific ways the Sixers showed they didn’t share his plans for the future.
If this is all true, it’ll be a major sting for fans of the 76ers.
When Harden arrived in the 2021-22 season, people were expecting great things from the combination of Harden and Joel Embiid.
Philadelphia was getting stronger and there was true belief that they could finally go all the way to an NBA championship.
In his first few months with the Sixers, he averaged 21 points and 10.5 assists.
During his first offseason with the team, Harden said all the right things, appeared very committed, and was working well with his teammates with a common goal.
Things got even better during his first full year with the 76ers as Harden produced 21 points and 10.7 assists.
Everything was looking good between Harden and the team but whispers of the star wanting to leave started to surface at the end of the postseason.
And ever since he announced his intention to be traded, things haven’t been the same.
At this point, it seems unlikely that the relationship between Harden and Daryl Morey will ever be repaired.
NEXT: 76ers Teammate Praises James Harden Amid Trade Saga
