- Andre Iguodala thought it was a great move by James Harden to call out Daryl Morey in China
- Iguodala spoke about the narrative of players having too much power
- Iguodala believes players are now putting themselves in a position to make organizations pay for their mistakes
James Harden’s extraordinary rant against Philadelphia 76ers President Daryl Morey has split opinions in the basketball world. Harden publically slammed Morey in China by calling him a liar and added he wouldn’t be part of the same organization as him. Harden has received some pushback for it, but Andre Iguodala has come to his defense.
“When you go into a contract negotiation, know what your value (is) and how you can leverage yourself,” Iguodala said on Gil’s Arena. “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,” Iguodala continued. “One because it’s gonna be hard to discipline James, because what did he do wrong? Right? And James will sell some shoes. That’s ultimately why he’s over there.
“We’re so quick to say disgruntled player,” Iguodala added. “’cause Kyrie (Irving), he had James’ back, because the headline from Woj (Adrian Wojnarowski) was ‘disgruntled player James Harden.’ It’s like, why is he disgruntled? Why isn’t the front office ever disgruntled?
“They always put players in a certain light and what you’re hearing a lot now is, players have too much power,” Iguodala stated. “Because we’re getting smarter and smarter. Because we know how to move, and we know how to say certain things, and we know how to use our leverage. Because when we make mistakes, it’s used against us, correct? But when they make mistakes, we’ve never put ourselves in the position to use their mistakes against them as well, and I just think he just had the perfect opportunity to repeat himself.”
Andre Iguodala talks about why James Harden went at 76ers GM Daryl Morey. pic.twitter.com/bD4vC361AD
— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) August 15, 2023
Making that statement in China certainly seems like a calculated move. Morey is far from being a popular figure in the country, following his support for the protests in Hong Kong back in 2019 and the crowd responded to Harden’s rant with cheers.
Iguodala is also upset at how these stories get reported, as they always seem to side with the teams over the players. Kyrie Irving slammed Morey for the lack of transparency in Harden’s contract negotiations and called out Adrian Wojnarowski for reporting that the 10-time All-Star is disgruntled.
The players are trying to wrestle some control over the narrative, and Iguodala believes this is Harden making the organization pay for a mistake they made. He thinks the players pay the price when they make mistakes, and that the teams should as well.
James Harden Isn’t Done Yet
As if a rant like that one wasn’t enough, Harden isn’t done yet. NBA insider Ramona Shelburne said Harden’s plan to force Morey to trade him involves making life very uncomfortable for the 76ers. She stated this is just the beginning of what the 33-year-old is planning to do this offseason.
Shelburne also felt the situation wasn’t the same as the one involving Ben Simmons. The Australian had kept his mouth shut during his training camp holdout in 2021, but Harden has shown he is willing to go public and speak his mind. The situation will just keep getting messier for the 76ers, and they might feel compelled to cut ties.
They received some positive news on that front, with Harden reportedly open to getting traded to teams other than the Clippers. The former MVP averaged 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in the 2022-23 season, and his willingness to go to other teams might help the 76ers get a better haul in return.
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