With the NBA looking into James Harden, he may decide to play in China instead.
After Harden had harsh words with his team’s boss, Bill Simmons, CEO of The Ringer and a friend of Philadelphia 76ers general manager Daryl Morey, said that Harden might look to quit the NBA.
After the All-Star guard made his contentious comments regarding Morey, the NBA launched an investigation against Harden and the Sixers to determine whether or not they broke any rules.
During a commercial engagement for Adidas in Shanghai, Harden publicly called Morey a “liar” on two separate occasions. In addition, he vowed to “never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”
A few days later, Harden doubled down on his previous statements and said that his friendship with Morey is permanently damaged.
Simmons said on his podcast, “I wouldn’t bet on this, but I think there’s a 20-1 chance I can see Harden in China next year. I meаn this.
“I don’t think he’s getting anything close to what he anticipated he’d receive from China, and he’ll just sаy, ‘I’ll go to China, get a massive check from them, and then maybe in February/March I’ll come back and play in the NBA and double dip.
I don’t buy that (David) Jacoby was two (years) for $40 million. I believe Dallas’s unwavering dedication to that awful transaction is the sole reason Kyrie earned that money. So, what are your plans? You have to deal Luka, Kyrie is an asset, and you have to cross your fingers and hope everything works out.
If the league finds that Harden did something wrong, they may suspend him and he could use that time to play in China.
Ten years after Morey first acquired Harden for the Houston Rockets, he dealt Ben Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for the superstar guard.
After the Rockets acquired Fred VanVleet from the Toronto Raptors, there was virtually no chance of Harden returning to the franchise.
The Los Angeles Clippers are said to have initiated trade talks with the Philadelphia 76ers, but thus yet, no concrete information has surfaced. According to reports, Harden is eager to sign with the Thunder, where he would be reunited with Russell Westbrook.