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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Justin Quinn

Celtics legend Kevin McHale is unsurprised by the James Harden-Daryl Morey standoff

Given how often James Harden has changed teams in recent years, it should not surprise that he again wants out of his current ball club, the Philadelphia 76ers. To Boston Celtics legend and former Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale however, it’s a bit of deja vu.

“I’ve been involved in a million meetings as a coach and GM, and, you know, players hear what they want to hear a lot of times. And Daryl (Morey)’s smart,” said McHale, who coached Harden as a Rocket, in a recent interview with Heavy’s Steve Bulpett. “My whole take on the thing is I think Daryl’s really hooked up with James, but I think ownership looked at it.”

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“Let’s face it, if the owner looks at you and says, ‘We’re signing that dude,’ you’re signing that dude,” he added. “Story’s over. And if the owner looks at you and says, ‘We’re not signing that dude,’ you’re not signing him. James wanted a big extension from Philly, and Philly wouldn’t give it to him, and that’s not a Daryl decision.”

“Daryl’s got a part of that, of course, but that’s an owner decision,” continued the Celtic champion forward.

“So (Harden) was really mad, saying Daryl lied to him, but, you know, maybe they saw Game 7 against the Celtics (9 points on 3-for-11 shooting in a 24-point loss) and said, ‘I’m not interested in that.’”

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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