James Harden Calling Daryl Morey 'A Liar' Has Nothing To Do With Basketball, It's Simply Him Bowing Down To China

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You can officially add James Harden's name to the list of athletes willing to bend the knee to China. Those that think Harden recently calling Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey a "liar" is strictly about basketball and his unhappiness with the organization haven't been paying attention. There are layers to the situation.

We have to do some scene setting to get the complete picture here.

Harden is still under contract with the 76ers. He hasn't hidden his frustration with the franchise this offseason after taking a pay cut a year ago and feeling left in the dark. It's been widely reported that he wants out of Philadelphia. The Los Angeles Clippers are his top destination, but the 76ers are reportedly planning on keeping Harden to begin the season.

Harden was asked about recent reports that the 76ers have ended trade talks, which is when he took it upon himself to call out Morey.

“Daryl Morey is a liar. And I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of," he explained. "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."

While Harden's comments are eye-opening to begin with, the fact that he called out Morey while on an Adidas press tour in China takes this from a conversation about basketball and contract disputes to him bowing down to the communist country.

James Harden Has Long Been Pro-China, Anti-Morey

We have to go back to October 2019 to get the full scope of the situation at hand.

Morey, the general manager of the Harden-led Houston Rockets at the time, shared a tweet ahead of the team's trip to Japan. It read "Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong." The tweet was in support of the pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong that were at the time fighting back against the Chinese government and an extradition bill.

After Morey's tweet, which again was simply promoting democracy, LeBron James and others blindly bashed Morey trying to make amends with the Chinese government. The same government that has now long been accused of committing genocide of Uyghurs.

The NBA and the Rockets even issued statements apologizing for one of its general managers publically supporting democracy. None of it made any sense, at least not for anyone living in reality.

One of the NBA players to immediately praise the NBA's relationship with China after Morey's tweet was Harden, who said "we apologize, we love China."

Harden's comments about Morey being "a liar" don't make sense to begin with. He was specifically asked to share his thoughts about the team bringing him back for the upcoming season.

Harden immediately going after Morey, who isn't even the team's general manager, is not a coincidence. But instead, a designed talking point to make sure the NBA's relationship with China is still intact.

Follow Mark Harris on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.