Bye Bye, Morey?

Awhile back I likened James Harden's relationship with Daryl "Lil Taiwan" Morey to that between Derrick Rose and Tom Thibodeau, but obviously that hasn't proven to be the case.  D-Rose finally left the Knicks recently, and, by the looks of things, he didn't do so with any bad blood between himself and Thibs.  Rose was never a good fit for NYK's roster, but at least Tom gave him a chance, including basically allowing Derrick to shoot the Knicks out of the playoffs a couple of years back (when they played the Hawks).  I do believe he'll be a much better fit with the Grizzlies, but that's a discussion for another day.

And the funny thing about the Beard recently calling Morey out is that he didn't say 'I'll never play for the Sixers'.  Everyone now knows that James is trying to force his way to the Clippers - a move that may result in a championship but, all things considered, probably not.  The Clippers have been one of the most-contending organizations of the 21st century, including pretty much throughout the 2020s thus far, but their current roster always has injury issues, to say the least.  Meanwhile, the Beard is also injury prone.  And even when he is healthy, like last season, he now plays more or less like a true PG, meaning that the likes of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard would then have to learn how to play off the ball.

Superteams only tend to work when the superstars are compatible (i.e. the 2008 Celtics) or all in their primes (like the 2012 Heat).  The Beard + Kawhi + PG13 isn't compatible, nor are any of them in their prime healthwise.  And let's not even bring Russell Westbrook into this conversation.

So Harden refusing to 'be part of an organization that Morey's a part of' can be taken in one of two ways.  Either the Beard is trying to force himself out of Philly, or he's trying to force Morey out.  Most people have instantly assumed the former, which is understandable considering that James has already demanded a trade, as is his norm.  But that isn't what Harden actually said with this latest statement.  What he said specifically is that he's not going to play for an organization, i.e. a team, that also employs Morey.

Presumably the Sixers picked up on that also, and it's like who knows if they would consider firing Daryl in the name of appeasing the Beard.  But this is definitely an unenviable situation they've gotten themselves into.  And yes, the blame is largely on the organization, because like how long have I been warning about superstar divas already?

Either the Sixes have to find another team, preferably the Clippers, who are willing to take on Harden's $30million+ salary(!), which is only valid for another year(!!), meaning that whatever team he does go to he can just bounce at the end of the season, you know, if he doesn't force a trade beforehand.  That would then make the Clippers or whoever reluctant to give up any really valuable players in return, unless they really are convinced they can win an instant championship (like the Raptors with Kawhi).

Or the other alternative is like, bye bye, Daryl.  And all PR disasters aside, Morey is one of the best executives in the NBA when it comes to building a roster, even though he obviously should've given up on the Beard a long time ago.

CONCLUSION

As someone who doesn't personally know Daryl Morey or James Harden, if I were in charge of the Sixers I'd probably give Lil Taiwan the boot, if that meant the Beard would be willing to peacefully stick around.  As far as actually winning is concerned, in the grand scheme of things you'd have to conclude that players are more important than any of the other team employees, including executives.  Also, Philly was already fielding contenders annually even before Morey showed up.