James Harden rips Daryl Morey, escalates feud with 76ers

"[Sixers team president] Daryl Morey is a liar," Harden announced. "And I will never be a part of an organization that he's a part of."

Just in case anyone missed it, or thought Harden wasn't serious, he repeated the statement immediately after. 

The conflict between Harden and the 76ers escalated quickly in June, when Harden wasn't receiving long-term contract offers from any team, including Philadelphia. So he picked up his $35.4 million player option and asked to be traded.

Why does he say Moray is a liar? It stems from whatever agreement he and Morey made - or did not make - last summer, when Harden declined his $47 million player option to take a $14 million pay cut to help the 76ers sign free agents like P.J. Tucker. When that happened, many insiders expected Philly to reward Harden's sacrifice with a long-term deal.

That wasn't the case, and Philadelphia also never seriously tried to trade Harden. Now Harden has opened up direct hostilities, outright refusing to play while also calling Morey's moral character into question.

We're still over seven weeks from when Philadelphia expects Harden to report to camp, and already the conflict between the team and Harden is at a boiling point.

No one forces a trade like Harden, but Morey has more patience for a holdout than nearly anyone. This situation is already uncomfortable - and we've still got nearly two months to go before it's comes to a head.