NBA Rumors: Joel Embiid surprise team, CP3’s warning, Harden investigation

NBA Rumors: James Harden fiasco lands 76ers under league investigation

James Harden put the Sixers in an unavoidable bind with his recent comments at a media event in China. Harden, who demanded a trade after opting into the final year of his contract, called Daryl Morey “a liar” and vowed never to play for Philadelphia ever again.

There was rampant (and frankly, well-founded) speculation that Harden was upset about the Sixers’ decision to not pay him a long-term max contract after he took a discount last summer. Any such “wink-wink” agreement would have been expressly illegal under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, but then again, NBA teams never adhere strictly to free agent guidelines.

Such speculation was rebuffed in a report from ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday, when it was revealed that Harden was simply upset about the Sixers’ decision to shut down trade talks. As Woj and Shelburne also report, however, the Sixers and Harden are now under league inquiry.

"“The league office is believed to be pursuing an understanding of whether Harden was portending a 2023-24 holdout in violation of the league’s collective bargaining agreement or had been referencing past contract discussions with the organization that might constitute salary cap circumvention, sources said.”"

It would appear this inquiry could go one of three ways. The league finds nothing and brushes it under the rug, Harden gets reprimanded for threatening to hold out, or the Sixers get punished for trying to finagle the salary rules to appease Harden (and benefit last year’s roster).

No matter the outcome, Harden doesn’t want to be in Philadelphia and he’s unlikely to stop shading the front office. The outcome of this inquiry may force Harden to more delicately approach the matter, but the partnership between player and franchise is officially untenable.