Tim Bontemps, ESPN
In his first society feedback since rejoining the Philadelphia 76ers extreme era, James Harden instructed newshounds later Friday’s follow he continues to look disagree approach his courting with Daryl Morey may also be repaired month additionally pronouncing his plan “is to play basketball. Yes, for sure.”
“No,” Harden stated flatly, when requested immediately whether or not he concept issues may just get patched up with Morey. “This is not even about this situation — this is in life.
“Whilst you lose accept as true with in any person, it’s like a wedding … you lose accept as true with in any person, you understand what I ruthless? It’s good-looking easy.”
Harden made some extent of by no means pronouncing Morey’s identify on Friday, handiest relating to him as “the entrance administrative center.”
Harden comparing his relationship with Morey, now Philadelphia’s president of basketball operations, to a marriage is fitting, given the two of them have been virtually tied at the hip ever since the defining moment of both of their careers, which took place 11 years ago this month when Morey brought Harden to the Houston Rockets in a blockbuster industry with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
From there, Harden turned himself into the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2018, and one of its greatest offensive players of this generation and of all time, helping power the Rockets to several playoff appearances, including a pair of Western Conference finals losses to the Golden State Warriors. But after the two of them were reunited this summer, their relationship broke down after the 76ers lost to the Boston Celtics in seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Harden, who called Morey a “liar” during an event in China in August, said the communication between the two sides — after being a constant for years — ended when Philadelphia’s playoff run was over.
“Me and the entrance administrative center had an overly, excellent courting for a decade,” Harden said. “There used to be consistent communique, you understand what I ruthless? There used to be disagree communique when we misplaced.”
When a follow-up question was asked about whether that meant there was no communication once the Celtics series came to an end, Harden didn’t answer.
In that absence of communication, Harden chose to opt into his $35.6 million player option for the 2023-24 season and requested to be traded to the LA Clippers. So far, however, that request has not been granted.
When asked whether he would like to be traded, Harden simply said, “You’ve were given to speak to the entrance administrative center about that.”
And, after missing media day and the team’s first practice at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, last week — a practice Harden said he missed because he was undergoing preseason physicals — he rejoined the team and has been practicing ever since.
Harden said he’s feeling “actually, actually just right” physically but that “there’s every other stage I think like I will get to and I wish to get to.” He said he is still ramping his body up and won’t play in Monday’s preseason game in Brooklyn against the Nets, but that he could play in the final preseason game next Friday against the Atlanta Hawks.
“I’ll ramp it up and aim to play games the extreme one simply to get myself in sport statuses and get worn to the physicality of defenders bumping you and whatnot,” Harden said. “The rate, the pace, all that just right stuff. So I believe we’ve were given a just right plan in park.”
Harden’s comments came more than a week after he returned to the team, participating in several practices but sitting out the team’s first two preseason games against the Celtics. The NBA typically gives some level of grace period in these types of situations, but it was reaching the point where that was expected to draw to a close and Harden needed to speak to the media about his situation.
His return, coupled with the nature in which he has done it, has made for an odd situation around the franchise, with everyone involved being pleased with how it’s going in the moment but remaining unsure about what’s Harden’s plans are or what this situation will look like from day to day — let alone from week to week or any longer time frame.
Throughout, however, Harden has made it clear his disdain for Morey doesn’t extend to the team’s new head coach, Nick Nurse, who replaced Doc Rivers earlier this offseason. On several occasions Friday, Harden praised Nurse for his versatility and adaptability as a coach, and he said he’s been impressed with the conversations he has had with Nurse since he took the job and with the scheme Nurse is putting into place.
“I believe it’s extra spacing, extra alternatives for everybody and simply unpredictable,” Harden said of Nurse’s system, after previously saying that he was a “participant’s educator” and that “he will get it.”
“He can alternate issues up at the fly, and if issues in a single, 5, six, seven possessions aren’t going proper, or in a single quarter, he can alternate it and put together changes. Which may be very tough to do. However he’s very, excellent at that.”
Harden, however, is not adjusting his stance on Morey whatsoever. He said that when he was traded to Philadelphia in February 2022, he “sought after to be right here, quit a Sixer, and the entrance administrative center didn’t have that of their plans.”
Now, though, he said he’s simply focusing on what’s in front of him — adding that his plan is to play this season.
“I’ve were given to put together a call for my crowd. This can be a trade. It’s so simple as that. I are available in right here nowadays and paintings my butt off and do the issues essential as a qualified as I might do and as I’ve been doing for 15 years.
“Like I said, I can control what I can control. I take it one day at a time and focus on every day as a new day. My plan is to play basketball, yes, for sure.”
