Harden says relationship with Morey cannot be repaired
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Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden told reporters Friday his relationship with general manager Daryl Morey cannot be repaired.
"This is not even about this situation, this is in life. When you lose trust in someone, it's like a marriage, when you lose trust in someone... it's pretty simple," Harden said.
Harden previously called Morey a "liar" and said he would no longer be affiliated with any organization he was apart of. Multiple reports indicate that Harden continues to push for a trade out of Philadelphia with the Los Angeles Clippers being his preferred destination. Harden picked up a $35.6 million player option earlier in the summer and requested a trade soon after.
"When I got traded here, my whole thing was I wanted to retire a Sixer. You know what I mean? I wanted to be here and retire a Sixer. And the front office didn't have that in their future plans," Harden said.
"It's literally out of my control. It's something I didn't want to happen, to be in this position. But I've got to make a decision for my family. Understand this is a business, it's just as simple as that. I come here today, work my butt off and do the things necessary as a professional as I would do and as I've been doing for 15 years.
"I appreciate the support and love, you know what I mean? This is definitely a difficult time."
This is the third time in the span of three years Harden has requested a trade. The first time came as a member of the Houston Rockets in 2021 and the second time came with the Brooklyn Nets in early 2022. In February of last year, Harden arrived in Philadelphia in exchange for a package that included former No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons and draft picks.
While Harden did lead the league in assists last season, he and the Sixers were bounced in the Eastern Conference semis for the second straight year with Harden falling into shooting slumps at inopportune times.
A 10-time All-Star, Harden has played exactly 1,000 regular season games over 14 NBA seasons while averaging 24.7 points per game.