Former NBA Champion Kendrick Perkins believes that James Harden’s days in the NBA in numbered if he does not control his emotions. The criticism from Perkins comes after Harden publicly attacked the Philadelphia 76ers President Daryl Morey.
On Monday, Harden called Morey a liar publicly after he got to know about the report stating that the Sixers are looking to end their search for trade partners for Harden as there are hardly any takers in the league. However, after this behaviour from Harden, Perkins told the crew at ESPN Today that the point guard’s days in the NBA might be numbered.
Perkins was very hurt by the way Harden treated Morey in public. He feels that Morey is one person who showed trust in Harden’s abilities. However with his unpredictable behaviour in recent years teams are not very keen to add Harden to their roster.
“You went and criticized a guy, a friend that values you more than anybody in the league,” Perkins said on the show. “James Harden has everything to lose, and if he’s not careful, he could possibly be out of the league after next year. Because here’s the thing: You can’t trust him. He’s been disgruntled in the last four out of five years. …The NBA doesn’t need him. … They move on from old superstars. They have a bunch of young superstars coming in every single year that can replace him.”
As per reports, Harden grew unhappy when Morey did not offer him a maximum-level contract. Therefore he exercised the $35.6 million player option in June with the expectation that the team will look for a trade destination.
However, in July Morey told the reporters that if the Sixers are not getting the desirable trade, he will not part ways with Harden. As per The Athletic’s Sam Amick, Harden wishes to be traded and is ready to skip the training camp for the upcoming season if things don’t work out according to him.
It will be interesting to see where Harden ends up in the coming years. It will be a problem for the Philadelphia 76ers aswell if they don’t find a solution to this problem instantly. Harden averaged 21.0 points, 10.7 assists and 6.1 rebounds in 58 games last season.
