Getty James Harden, Patrick Beverley
The Philadelphia 76ers have quite a turbulent situation on their hands, with James Harden and Daryl Morey at odds with one another. After Harden was filmed calling Morey a liar and vowing to never play for him again, new Sixer Patrick Beverley gave his thoughts on his situation on the August 16 episode of “The Pat Bev Podcast With Rone.”
“Obviously, (Harden)’s entitled to feel any way loss when he’s promised things, and on Daryl’s behalf, no matter what, his job is to get the best product for as cheap as possible. That’s his job. That’s the name of the game. You’re a GM, you’re a president, you’re trying to get a bunch of great product… and I think we’re in the middle of that right now. Obviously, it’s not a good look media-wise, organizational-wise”
Beverley added that he understands both sides on the matter and why Harden and Morey have had a falling out.
“I definitely understand both sides. Saying all these players in this league, you get a ton of money. Obviously, you understand the player side because I’m a player. I’m always gonna be on the player side and also doing business with friends too. I’ve done business with friends that haven’t worked out to my liking, and then you have to end relationships because of that. So, I understand both sides. It’s just an unfortunate situation.”
Danny Green Also Understands Both Sides
Following Harden’s comments, former Sixers sharpshooter Danny Green explained why he, too, understands both sides of the matter.
“As a player, I’m always gonna side with the player. Not just because I’m a player, but I also don’t think he’s wrong. If he was promised something, I think you need to come through with that promise,” Green said on the August 14 episode of ESPN’s “NBA Today.” “But I see the other side of it with Daryl Morey. I understand it’s a business. GMs, they make a lot of decisions quickly in the heat of the moment, and your mind is going to change — the emotion is gonna change at different times —and maybe his hands are tied to this. Maybe he’s not able to offer James the extension that he wants. So I understand Daryl. I understand James.”
Green, who played for the Sixers from 2020 to 2022, is still a free agent after finishing the 2022-23 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
P.J. Tucker Shows Support for James Harden
While Beverley and Green have gone on public record defending both Harden and Morey for their stances on the matter, Sixers wing P.J. Tucker made it pretty clear who he supports on the matter. Following Harden’s comments, Tucker posted a picture of him and Harden the day he was awarded the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award on August 14.
In the picture was the caption, “I’m not acrobatic, I’m not flippin’ on my bros,” which was aggregated by Sixers’ Wire’s Ky Carlin on his X account.
PJ Tucker with a message #Sixers
Tucker publically supporting Harden could further divide the Sixers should they let this predicament continue. Tucker very clearly values his relationship with Harden more than he does with Morey or the Sixers organization.