[Michael Lombardi](https://twitter.com/mlombardinfl/status/1691048465508290560?s=46&t=hdMYR5VNI3D4hupTVErxeg)
> As an executive, you can never lie to players or make promises you cannot fulfill. Once that occurs, it’s over and there is no way out. Harden took less, expecting more the next year–and now it’s a mess. No PR propaganda will save them now.
If other players — around the league and on the Sixers — begin to believe Morey will make financial promises to them that he won’t keep, I can’t imagine the Sixers will be inclined to keep Morey around much longer.
by lopea182
31 Comments
Is there any proof or is this just a wink and nudge type deal?
If so I can’t see any damages Philly might suffer aside to their reputation. And they’ll just make Morey the fall guy for that.
Would love to know what actually happened. There’s a big difference between promising to send him somewhere and “we’ll do our best to find a good spot for you” or whatever. I bet if you asked either of them you would get two different answers on what was actually said.
EDIT: FWIW this applies to the Blazers too. Reassuring Dame that they wanted to add pieces to compete and “I promise you we are trading the pick” are two very different things. If Cronin ever said that latter I can’t blame Dame at all for the Miami shit. If they actually *tried* to compete and pivoted when they failed and landed with Scoot that’s a very different scenario.
I love the people that respond “YEAH WELL GMS LIE” as if that’s something the players have to respect lol.
This isn’t ending well for the 76ers
Yeah I’m sure this event is going yo stop the conga line of FAs that were desperate to come to Philly beforehand. Who is the last one that came here?
In Games 2, 3, 5, 6 & 7 against the Celtics, Harden averaged 13.4ppg on 27.6% shooting from the field and 19.7% from 3pt range.
I don’t care what “understanding” there was — its not a legal contract and he’s not worth anywhere near a max deal. When Harden was “promised” this max contract, I’m sure it was with the understanding that he’d be worth that contract as a 20-25ppg scorer
All so that they could overpay PJ Tucker and Danuel House.
What if you don’t want to support Harden or Morey? What if you really don’t enjoy either of them? What are *we* supposed with this development? Lol
I’m on hardens side do what u gotta do playa
Why is Michael Lombardi weighing in on this? Who the hell cares what he thinks?
You can give Mark Cuban a lot of grief for a lot of things, but players love the hell out of him. Dirk did the exact same thing with Cuban that Harden presumably did with Morey–he took a massive team-friendly discount to get better players. It didn’t work out, but the important thing is that when Dirk was fairly in decline, Cuban gave him a max contract to close out his career, WAY overpaying for his skills at the time.
Morey needs to come out with his side of the story
No one cares what certified moron Mike Lombardi thinks.
Are you allowed to tell players that you’ll get them back next contract for a lower contract this season? Seems like skirting the luxury tax rules. This is why you always get your contracts in writing. Does Morey suck for reneging? Absolutely. But Harden also should have got what he wanted in a contract otherwise there’s no way to know if someone will go through with their side of the bargain. You can’t renew on a contract after signing an extension because something that wasn’t in the contract wasn’t fulfilled. It just doesn’t make any sense.
This reminds me of the time Mike Lombardi’s buddy Bill Belichick lied to QB Jim McMahon about paying him, which eventually led to McMahon attacking Lombardi in a hallway.
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/jim-mcmahon-calls-bill-belichick-a-liar-while-recalling-their-time-together-with-browns/
somehow this is all Ben Simmons fault
I think there’s a good chance that Harden might have ruined Morey’s career as an NBA executive.
Daryl morey is the nastiest skank bitch I have ever met do not trust him
Best practices are to assume both parties are lying here, or at least, spinning things in ways favorable to themselves.
Like players and GM say….”it’s business”. It sucks for harden, but bro, you know not to take verbal agreement 😂🤣😂 seriously, you think anyone is going to keep their word when it comes to their interest or job lol….come on bro and take this L
wait, Masai Ujiri did that and after won a ring. Winning solves alot of issues. So just win win win
Not Morey’s fault that Harden let himself go and refuses to get in shape.
Did the lie become false AFTER he demanded a trade? Seems relevant that
It’s the principle. I literally went through the same thing at my last job. I actually thought pretty highly of my boss but once you start making false promises related to money, it’s done.
Ceo/owner promised a raise in a year. Never came. Yet expected performance to stay the same (even added responsibilities), slashed bonuses and had the audacity to complain about #’s. I called him a bum in our last conversation and told him to brush up on his skills and resume because he might actually need a w2 soon with the way he manages.
“Unless you’re Pat Riley”
I don’t even like James Harden, but I 100% side with him on this one. Lying employers deserve to be called out.
Exactly. This could be a career ender for Daryl Morey. Which superstar is gonna want to go to a team where he is GM/President with Morey being unreliable and having a reputation for not fulfilling what he promised.
Agents are not gonna want to do business with him. Which franchise owner would employ Morey?
Aren’t under the table promises like that forbidden? Like people just openly talking about violations that have historically ended up with lost draft picks.
I’ll agree if the players also agree not to demand trades a year after signing a supermax/max contract.
Harden didn’t say he had an under the table agreement did he? I understood his comment to mean that they aren’t meeting his trade request
It’s against NBA rules to make a side deal like that. This is good for the league.
Meh, The Process was over when Hinkie was ousted and I’ve lost interest.