James Harden whines his way back to Houston

It must be great to be James Harden.

He’s a former MVP, the greatest left-handed scorer ever and internationally famous, thanks to that signature beard. Plus, he’s a Sun Devil. And Sun Devils will assure you, often without prompting, that there’s nothing better than being a Sun Devil.

Harden is the guy who revolutionized basketball with his step-back and side-step moves, his knack for baiting referees into foul calls and his propensity to shoot 3-pointers whenever, wherever and with whomever guarding him.

Harden has had big-money contracts from the NBA. From Adidas. From Beats. From State Farm.

But it’s his latest venture, J-Harden Wines, that represents his greatest business move: James Harden has made complaining cool — something not even LeBron James could pull off.

“Daryl Morey is a liar, and I will never be part of an organization that he’s a part of,” Harden said this week on a tour of China.

Harden was speaking to friction with his boss in the midst of an apparent stalled trade request. Morey is the 76ers' president of basketball operations.

If Philadelphia deals Harden, he’ll be on his fourth team in four seasons.

For whatever it’s worth, I don’t know what the specifics were in any of these situations.

I do know that if one person thinks everybody else is the problem, it’s probably not everybody else who’s the problem.

Harden, on his way out of Houston, said, “This situation is crazy. It’s something that I don’t think can be fixed.” He only lasted a year in Brooklyn, being traded after opting out of his contract. And now this with Philadelphia.

“Daryl Morey is a liar, and I will never be part of an organization that he’s a part of,” Harden said in the soundbite heard ’round the world. “Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar, and I will never be part of an organization that he’s a part of.”

His reputation as a guy who flops and whines on the court is longer than his beard.

Now, he’s getting a reputation off the court for being a guy who pouts, but this wine shows he’s savvy enough to turn a buck off of it.

J-Harden Wines sold 16,000 bottles in China in a matter of minutes, prompting the soon-to-be 34-year-old to hit the worst cartwheel of all time in a viral video posted to Tik Tok.

The international expansion of the brand with a bearded silhouette on the bottle was part of a one-year anniversary celebration.

“I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished in our first year of J-Harden Wines,” Harden said.

“As a Black-owned business owner, I want to make wine more available to all communities. I want people to know they can enjoy some of the finer things in life and do it at an affordable price.”

Related: James Harden shows support for Arizona State women's soccer team

He’s even using the profits to support business grants for female minority-owned businesses, which he plans to distribute in Houston this month.

You’ve got to love it.

He heard all the negativity from critics, and instead of whining, he turned it into wine.

It must be great to be James Harden. I just want to know whether he’s going to start selling cheese next?

Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @SayingMoore.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: James Harden whines his way to Houston in genius business move