NBA Rumors: NBA drops hammer on James Harden after Daryl Morey comments

NBA Rumors: The NBA officially drops the hammer on James Harden after his most recent comments on Daryl Morey.

It’s been a messy summer between the Philadelphia 76ers and James Harden. After Harden demanded a trade away from the team (and to the LA Clippers) before the start of free agency, there has been no traction on any deal. So much so that the latest reporting suggests that the Sixers plan on keeping Harden on the roster heading into the start of the season.

That didn’t sit right with Harden. During his recent basketball tour in China, in response to the report that the Sixers had ended trade talks involving Harden, he publically called Sixers general manager Daryl Morey a “liar” while attaching the parting remarks that he would never play for an organization that he’s a part of.

As you would expect, the NBA didn’t appreciate those comments.

It was reported today that the NBA has dropped the hammer on Harden due to those remarks. Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA has fined Harden $100,000 for essentially calling Morey a liar” for not following through on his supposed promise to trade Harden after he decided to opt into the final year of his contract.

The NBA continues to push back on trade demands

More than in years past, the NBA has made a concerted effort to reel in NBA players and their desire to dictate where they are traded to – both in terms of demanding a trade and/or handpicking destinations. And Harden has only been part of that this offseason.

The NBA has also strongly pushed back on Damian Lillard and his camp after he demanded a trade to the Miami Heat in early July. It’s unclear if Lillard’s stance has changed at all after the NBA sent a memo to all 30 teams. However, it’s clear that the NBA is at least trying to do that in this specific situation.

With a little more than a month remaining before the start of NBA training camps, it’ll be interesting to see how each of these two situations evolves. On one hand, it’s hard to imagine Harden and Lillard both getting exactly what they want anytime soon. However, on the other hand, without much of a market for either player, it also seems as a bit of a foregone conclusion that they’re going to get to LA and Miami, respectively.

The next few weeks should prove to be interesting. The NBA has fined Harden. Perhaps Lillar could be next?