NBA launching investigation into James Harden's public comments on Daryl Morey

The NBA is launching an inquiry into James Harden‘s public callout of Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne.

Harden made waves earlier this week when he called Morey a “liar” during his marketing tour with Adidas in China.

“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,” Harden said. “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.”

According to Wojnarowski, the league office is attempting to gain an understanding of whether or not Harden plans to hold out in 2023-24, which would be in violation of the league’s collective bargaining agreement. The league office is also trying to determine whether he was referencing past contract discussions with the Sixers that would constitute salary cap circumvention.

Privately, Harden has indicated that his public comments calling out Morey were a response to Morey ending trade discussions regarding Harden and Morey’s expectation that the star guard would report to camp and start the season with the Sixers, according to Wojnarowski. Wojnarowski notes that neither the Sixers nor Harden would be in violation of league guidelines if that ends up being the case.

While Harden’s comments were surprising, he never outright made public allegations of a previous handshake agreement being in place with the Sixers on a future contract, Wojnarowski writes.

Harden signed a two-year contract worth $68.6M with a player option in 2023-24 last season, taking less money on a deal that allowed Philadelphia to bring in P.J. Tucker and Danuel House. After those dealings, the NBA investigated the Sixers and determined that they had premature conversations with Tucker and House and wound up stripping the franchise of two future second-round picks. However, the league did not uncover findings of Harden or the Sixers agreeing to a future contract contingent on his previous deal at that time, according to Wojnarowski.

Harden exercised that 2023-24 player option in June, with an expectation that Morey would work with him to find a trade that would send him to the Clippers, his preferred destination. Wojnarowski reports that the Sixers and Clippers engaged in numerous conversations but never gained traction on any deal.

Morey, who faced a similar situation with Ben Simmons, isn’t willing to make a trade involving Harden that negatively impacts Philadelphia’s chances of contending next year, Wojnarowski reports.

The Sixers continue to deny that the organization ever agreed upon an illegal future deal with Harden, Wojnarowski adds.