People were shocked when James Harden publicly called Daryl Morey of the Philadelphia 76ers a liar.
He did so in front of cameras and the press while in China and even repeated himself to drive the point home.
It was a blatant verbal attack on his boss and some people thought he would face serious repercussions because of it.
But apparently, that won’t be the case.
According to Marc Stein, per NBACentral, Harden is unlikely to be disciplined because of his comments.
Via Stein:
“It’s difficult to see how Harden, for his part, will face any league discipline for what he said in China. He publicly and pointedly criticized the highest-ranking official in the 76ers’ front office, but there’s no league rule that precludes him from doing so.”
The NBA is unlikely to discipline James Harden for his comments on Daryl Morey, per @TheSteinLine
“It’s difficult to see how Harden, for his part, will face any league discipline for what he said in China. He publicly and pointedly criticized the highest-ranking official in the… pic.twitter.com/sNz9ggJYcm
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 18, 2023
Harden might have dropped some jaws with his words and may have completely ruined any future relationship with Morey, but he apparently didn’t break any rules.
The league has strict regulations about what stars can and can’t say.
They can’t criticize the referees during a game, for example.
But there is nothing barring them from speaking out against their team’s front office.
However, players rarely do that because it usually leads to their future with the team being put in jeopardy.
But Harden clearly doesn’t care about that.
He knew what he was doing with this scorched-earth approach to contract negotiations.
His goal was to burn all bridges with the Sixers and force Morey to send him away.
So far, his plan hasn’t panned out.
He is still officially a member of the team and Morey’s front office is devoted to not trading him unless they get a really good deal from another squad.
Harden probably won’t face any punishment from the league but was this move really worth it?
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Patrick Beverley Comments On The James Harden, Daryl Morey Drama