James Harden-76ers Drama Could Mean One Less Obstacle For Celtics

Step-back jumpers, egregious flops and shooting his way out of situations that don’t please him anymore — that’s what James Harden will always be known for.

The Philadelphia 76ers were reminded of Harden’s bag of tricks over the weekend when he spoke at an Adidas event in China.

“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization he’s a part of,” Harden said in reference to Philadelphia’s president, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

“Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”

While Morey reportedly was “unmoved” by Harden’s comments, they’re difficult to ignore. They confirm just how messy the situation is in the City of Brotherly Love. Harden first requested a trade June 29 and again confirmed his desire to be traded two weeks later.

Morey and the organization reportedly shut down trade chatter involving Harden, digging its heels in pursuit of a desired trade package. Harden’s track record makes that desired package unlikely, as depicted by the initial interest and then lack of interest from the Los Angeles Clippers.

It now feels like there are only two outcomes: Harden either will be traded by the Sixers or Philadelphia will hold onto him and force him to sit out the 2023-24 campaign. Harden is under contract for $35 million after he exercised his player option. It’s not drastically different than the Ben Simmons-76ers drama, which resulted in Simmons sitting out before being traded in the deal that brought Harden to Philly.

Regardless of exactly how it goes down, as long as one of those two play out, it essentially removes the 76ers as an Eastern Conference contender. It probably will further irritate reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid, too, who’s already made his discontent known. That’s good news for the favored Boston Celtics and other conference contenders like the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat, who continue to be speculated as a landing spot for Damian Lillard.

The Celtics (+470), Bucks (+600) and Heat (+1000) have three of the shortest prices on FanDuel Sportsbook to win the NBA championship. Philadelphia is 17-1.

Simply put, the 76ers are better with Harden than without him. And while Philadelphia does still have Embiid along with budding star Tyrese Maxey, the tandem doesn’t present the same threat to Boston or the rest of the East.