Celtics legend Kevin McHale is unsurprised by the James Harden-Daryl Morey standoff
Given how often James Harden has changed teams in recent years, it should not surprise that he again wants out of his current ball club, the Philadelphia 76ers. To Boston Celtics legend and former Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale however, it’s a bit of deja vu.
“I’ve been involved in a million meetings as a coach and GM, and, you know, players hear what they want to hear a lot of times. And Daryl (Morey)’s smart,” said McHale, who coached Harden as a Rocket, in a recent interview with Heavy’s Steve Bulpett. “My whole take on the thing is I think Daryl’s really hooked up with James, but I think ownership looked at it.”
“Let’s face it, if the owner looks at you and says, ‘We’re signing that dude,’ you’re signing that dude,” he added. “Story’s over. And if the owner looks at you and says, ‘We’re not signing that dude,’ you’re not signing him. James wanted a big extension from Philly, and Philly wouldn’t give it to him, and that’s not a Daryl decision.”
It may be the dog days of August in the NBA’s 2023 offseason, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have plenty of Boston Celtics-related things to talk about. https://t.co/9D3kRmYsql
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) August 15, 2023
“Daryl’s got a part of that, of course, but that’s an owner decision,” continued the Celtic champion forward.
“So (Harden) was really mad, saying Daryl lied to him, but, you know, maybe they saw Game 7 against the Celtics (9 points on 3-for-11 shooting in a 24-point loss) and said, ‘I’m not interested in that.’”
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