Why did James Harden call Daryl Morey a liar? Looking at recent controversy between The Beard and Sixers president

Things have got heated in Philadelphia as of late, as James Harden doesn't hold back on his trade request and wants out of the Sixers.

Ever since he opted into his $35,6 million option on July 1st, Harden immediately asked for a trade and named the LA Clippers as his preferred destination. Even though it seemed the deal would proceed quickly, things changed and the Sixers ended any trade talks with interested teams.

For his part, James Harden addressed the situation and called out Sixers president Daryl Morey, as he believes that the Philadelphia executive is the only one responsible for the delay in his trade request.

Harden didn't hold back and called Morey a 'liar' during his recent tour in China, in a segment that quickly went viral and forced the NBA to open an investigation.

"Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he's a part of. 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," James Harden said.

He went on to say that it is too late to fix the relationship with Morey, but he is trying to be patient until this situation gets resolved.

What is the reason behind James Harden-Daryl Morey controversy?

It is still uncertain how things will play out between James Harden and Daryl Morey, but Harden is clearly frustrated by everything that happened since he officially asked for a trade.

He initially thought the Sixers would offer him a max deal this offseason, but Philadelphia never showed the desire to do so. Thus, he decided to ask for a trade and leave the squad. This was the third trade request for James Harden since the summer of 2020.

When the NBA opened an investigation on the current relationship between Harden and Morey, the superstar guard told the league that he called Morey a 'liar' because he didn't fulfil his promise to trade him as soon as possible. This led to the former NBA MVP publicly expressing his frustration on the matter.

Despite Harden's actions, Daryl Morey's stance hasn't changed and wants to bring the superstar guard to training camp. The veteran executive still believes his arrival will not affect the team and thinks the championship window with Harden and reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid is not yet closed.

At the same time, it looks like the Clippers are the only team that have a good chance of landing Harden. However, they will need to put together a good package of players and draft picks to convince the Sixers to agree to a deal.

Based on what we have seen over the past few weeks, though, the Sixers will not change their stance and will expect Harden to report to training camp in late September.

James Harden averaged 21 points, 6.1 rebounds and a league-leading 10.7 assists in 58 games last season, but failed to lead the Sixers past the Eastern Conference semi-finals.