The NBA has decided to levy Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden with a huge fine for claiming he would not play for the team next season despite having a contract with the organization.
The situation between the Sixers and star guard James Harden has gotten pretty ugly over the last couple of months. After signing a team-friendly contract last summer, the future Hall-of-Famer and the 76ers had a strong showing in the 2022-2023 season. However, they blew a series lead and were bounced from the NBA playoffs in the semifinals by the Boston Celtics.
Since then, the relationship between the franchise and the 10-time All-Star has spiraled into a dark place. The organization reportedly gave him the cold shoulder when he had to decide if he would opt in or out of the final year of his contract. That led to some payback from Harden when he surprisingly opted in, instead of testing free agency, and then immediately asked for a trade out of Philadelphia.
However, last week it was reported that the team shut down any and all trade discussions and planned to have the one-time NBA MVP with them next season. That did not sit well with James Harden and he took his outrage public by calling the 76ers general manager a “liar” and claiming he would never suit up for the team again.
James Harden fined $100,000 by NBA for recent comments
Well, following an investigation into his comments, the league hasn’t penalized the executive and is instead fining the superstar guard. On Tuesday, the NBA announced that they will be fining Harden $100,000 for his comments about not suiting up for the organization despite being obligated to via his contract.
“The NBA announced today that Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden has been fined $100,000 by the NBA for public comments on August 14 and 17 indicating that he would not perform the services called for under his player contract unless traded to another team.
“The league’s investigation, which included an interview of Harden, confirmed that these comments referenced Harden’s belief that the 76ers would not accommodate his request to be traded.”
– NBA statement
It will be interesting to see how this now plays out since Harden will not have any support from the league in his attempts to escape from Philly.