76ers star James Harden floats idea of playing professionally in China

In the days after Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden called general manager Daryl Morey a "liar" and vowed to "never" be a part of a team that Morey was on, Harden floated the notion of playing professionally in China.

"Every time I come here, the love is just like ... it’s crazy, you know what I mean?" Harden said during a recent trip to the country, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. "So I feel like they deserve to actually see me come play here. … Love is always crazy here."

Harden had been in China doing promotional and fan events, including one for Adidas, when he said his comments about Morey.

Harden made his comments about Morey after ESPN reported that the 76ers had shut down all trade conversations involving Harden and that the team was determined to bring him back. In June, Harden had opted into the final season of his $35.6 million contract with the idea that the Sixers would work to trade him to another squad.

The Sixers told Harden’s agent, Mike Silverman, over the weekend that Morey was unable to find a suitable deal and the franchise was not compelled to deal him unless it could find a package that would enhance their chance to contend, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the negotiations were not made public.

Harden, who will turn 34 later this month, averaged 21 points, 10.7 assists and 6.1 rebounds last season while shooting 44.1% from the field and 38.5% from 3-point range. His point totals matched the 2021-22 season's and are his lowest mark since 2011-12.

Why did James Harden express an interest in playing in China?

Harden could potentially be exercising his leverage against Morey. In October 2019, Morey, then the general manager of the Houston Rockets, posted a message on social media in support of the protesters in Hong Kong that were pushing back against a law that would allow extradition of fugitives who are wanted in mainland China.

"Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong," the since-deleted message read.

In response to the message, China blacklisted the Rockets and NBA broadcasts, resulting in a loss in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Which NBA players have supported James Harden since his comments about Daryl Morey?

On Monday, Dallas Mavericks guard, and Harden's former teammate with the Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie Irving pushed back on the notion that Harden was disgruntled when he replied to a social media post ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski published that shared an article with Harden's comments about Morey.

"Is he Disgruntled Adrian??" Irving wrote. "Or is he holding Darryl (sic) Morey accountable for his dishonesty and lack of transparency throughout the contract negotiation process this summer?"

Current 76ers teammate P.J. Tucker replied on Instagram, in support of Harden: "I’m not acrobatic, I’m not flippin’ on my bros."

And in an appearance on "Gil's Show," a podcast hosted by former player Gilbert Arenas, former guard Andre Iguodala thought Harden was cleverly using leverage to his advantage.

"When you go into a contract negotiation, know what your value (is) and how you can leverage yourself," Iguodala said during the podcast. "Know what opportunities you have on the other side, your safety net. What is James’ safety net? Daryl Morey has a history with China where he can say something and the backlash from what he says, it may not be any because there’s a history there with Morey and China. So, it was a great move out of leverage by James. One, because it’s going to be hard to discipline James, because what did he do wrong? And James is going to sell some shoes. That’s ultimately why he’s over there."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 76ers' James Harden floats idea of playing professionally in China