“Front office didn’t have that”: James Harden drops massive bombshell on Sixers not envisioning him to retire with team

James Harden and Daryl Morey's relationship seems to be damaged beyond repair. While Harden did report to training camp, he's remained steadfast in his desire to part ways with Morey and the 76ers. In a series of bold offseason moves that included plenty of public jabs at Morey, James Harden continued to put pressure on the front office.

Leading up to the start of the 2023-24 season, Philadelphia 76ers fans who have continued to hold out hope that the two sides will reach a solution will be disappointed. Over the past few weeks, talk has indicated that the LA Clippers could make an offer for James Harden, however so far nothing has come to fruition.

While speaking to media members on Oct. 13, Harden explained that he wanted to retire a Sixer, however, Morey and the front office had other plans. The situation, which largely revolves around Harden's desire to get a max contract, saw the former MVP say:

"When I got traded here, my whole thing was I wanted to retire a Sixer. I wanted to be here and retire a Sixer. The front office didn’t have that in their future plan. It’s literally out of my control. It’s something I didn’t want to happen to be in this position. I got to make that decision for my family."

Daryl Morey's side of the ongoing James Harden trade discussions

Daryl Morey's side of this offseason's events as they pertain to James Harden is certainly far different from Harden's version of events. Despite the pair's relationship seemingly being damaged beyond repair, Harden plans to play for the Sixers amid the current standoff.

On the flip side, Daryl Morey has reportedly remained steadfast in his desire to trade Harden for assets that can return him an All-Star. Whether that trade materializes now or during the season seems to be of little importance to Morey.

On Thursday's installment of NBA Today, longtime reporter and insider Adrian Wojnarowski spoke about Morey's position. In addition, he confirmed that the Clippers are the leading candidate to land Harden right now:

"Daryl Morey's motivation is whatever he gets from the Clippers, he wants to be able to flip that for another All-Star level guard that he could replace James Harden with."

With the Philadelphia 76ers' 2023-24 NBA season set to tip off on Oct. 26, it's safe to say that the ongoing situation with Harden and Morey will continue to garner attention. Whether or not we see a resolution between now and the start of the season, only time will tell.