Sometimes less is more.
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid made some small but noticeable changes to his account on X, formerly known as Twitter, amid the standoff between the team’s president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey, and guard James Harden.
On Saturday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported, “The 76ers have ended trade talks on guard James Harden and plan to bring him back to training camp for start of the season.”
In a video posted Monday by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Harden accused Morey of being a “liar.”
According to a story posted Tuesday by WIP in Philadelphia, Embiid “removed some things from his Twitter bio like ‘processing…’ and the location of Philadelphia.”
Embiid, the reigning NBA MVP, has been at the center of the Sixers’ nearly decade-long rebuild and the crown jewel around which Morey built a title contender.
Morey had hoped that would include Harden when the former Rockets general manager completed a deal in February 2022 with the Nets, bringing Harden to Philadelphia and sending disappointing former first-round draft pick, Ben Simmons, to Brooklyn.
Harden, 33, is unhappy with Morey over the lack of a long-term max contract offer, according to Wojnarowski — who reported the Sixers plan to bring the 10-time All-Star back to training camp for the start of the season.
Harden took a $15 million pay cut in July 2022 and declined his $47.4 million player option with the 76ers to sign a $33 million deal for the 2022-23 campaign.
The new contract also included a player option for the 2023-24 season.
Rumblings of a rift between Harden and Morey swirled in June when the point guard picked up the $35.6 million player option and stated his trade request, with the Los Angeles Clippers being his preferred destination.
Following the news that Philadelphia ended Harden trade talks, The Athletic reported Saturday that the former league MVP no longer wants to play for the Sixers and has no plans of taking part in training camp.
To that end, Harden unloaded on Morey during a recent press event in China with Adidas basketball.
“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.
“Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”
Harden, according to Sports Illustrated, provided that answer after being asked: “What do you think about the current team claiming to end trade talks and trying to bring you back to the team?”
As for Embiid, he agreed in September to a four-year super-max contract worth $196 million, tying him to the Sixers through the 2026-27 season.
Embiid has been the NBA’s leading scorer during the last two seasons, averaging 30.6 points per game during the 2021-22 season and topping that last season by averaging 33.1 points per game.
He was the first 76er to win league MVP since Allen Iverson in 2001.