76ers Rumors: James Harden, Daryl Morey Have 'Severed' Relationship amid Trade Talks

After working together for nearly a decade, James Harden and Philadelphia 76ers general manager Daryl Morey are experiencing a divide in their longstanding relationship amid the star guard's trade request, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Charania reported that Harden opted in to the final year of his contract for $35.6 million and demanded a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers because the 2017-18 MVP felt that the 76ers weren't being genuine in their negotiations over a long-term deal.

"The relationship between James Harden and Daryl Morey is essentially severed, it's essentially fractured throughout this process," Charania said on the latest episode of The Rally.

Harden, 33, was eligible to receive a max contract from Philadelphia this offseason after taking a pay cut last year so that the franchise could bring in P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr.. The max contract would have been worth $210.1 million over four years.

It was reported earlier in the season that the 76ers were "not really motivated" to give Harden that type of money.

"The 76ers have not shown an appetite to pay Harden the max; that's why they asked him to take a pay cut last year," ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported back in May. "... The Sixers are not really motivated to pay him that max salary if they don't think anybody else is going to do it."

The Rockets, who were the other team that looked like suitors for the 10-time All-Star, also weren't certain about giving him a max either.

As for Harden and Morey, their relationship dates back to 2012 when the long-time executive traded for him in Houston. They spent eight seasons together with the Rockets, with whom Harden became one of the game's all-time elite scorers.

Morey consistently went to bat for his star, campaigning for him to win MVPs and even going as far to say that Harden's a better scorer than Michael Jordan.

"It's just factual that James Harden is a better scorer than Michael Jordan," Morey said back in 2019. "… You give James Harden the ball and before you're giving up the ball how many points do you generate, which is how you should measure offense, James Harden is by far No 1 in NBA history."

When Harden asked out of Houston in 2020, Morey wound up sending him to Brooklyn, his preferred destination. After taking over the president of basketball operations job with the 76ers, he reunited with Harden after he demanded a trade from the Nets the following season.

But it now seems that all that love and respect has faded away amid this latest trade demand to the Clippers. Charania believes that Harden will ultimately get his way and end up in Los Angeles at some point