James Harden considers Daryl Morey ‘a liar’ and Paul George a teammate. Will that complicate Sixers’ free agency?

Think back to James Harden’s comments about Daryl Morey last summer.

Then ask yourself how Harden’s soured relationship with the 76ers president of basketball operations could affect the team in free agency this year.

After Harden called Morey “a liar” and refused to work under the same roof, the Sixers traded the future Hall of Fame guard to the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 1.

That complicated relationship is just one intriguing layer to the Sixers’ pursuit of Paul George, who played alongside Harden this past season. It’s hard to imagine they did not discuss how Harden’s relationship with Morey deteriorated.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid and Paul George appeared together on NBA Countdown. Could they reunite on the Sixers?

On Podcast P With Paul George, the nine-time All-NBA swingman talked about how league executives’ reputations — including the Morey and Harden situation — can impact free agency.

“Believe it or not, players talk,” George said. “And then reputations go around, like, ‘Hey man, I don’t know about going to this place, because they … [shoot]. Watch your back, you know what I mean?’ That’s the conversations you have.”

Some free agents will look at the Morey-Harden beef as an isolated situation. In their eyes, Harden just wasn’t a good fit in Philly. And they might even conclude he was ungrateful to Morey, who put him in position to become a household name and overlooked his off-the-court lifestyle.

For them, the opportunity to get a maximum-salary contract while teaming up with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey to win an NBA title is too big a pass up, regardless of Harden’s gripes.

Others will wonder if Morey was untrustworthy to his former close friend. And if he was, how can they possibly trust him? They may also consider Chris Paul and Patrick Beverley contending that Morey lied to them and provided a false sense of security by saying he wouldn’t trade them.

» READ MORE: The Sixers should be an attractive free agent destination. But Philly isn’t for the faint of heart.

Paul felt betrayed when Morey, then the Houston Rockets general manager, traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder on July 16, 2019. Meanwhile, the Sixers traded Beverley to the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 8. During that day’s episode of the Pat Bev Podcast With Rone, Beverley said, “So we playing in Denver, and I hit Daryl Morey with, ‘Hey, I’m getting traded?’ ‘You? No. No, not you, no. Of course not.’”

But while those accounts are important, it’s Harden whose opinion will be held in higher regard. Harden and Morey were linked to each other after their work together that dates back to the Rockets. As Houston’s general manager, Morey acquired Harden via a trade with the Thunder in October 2012.

Harden blossomed into a three-time scoring champion and 2018 league MVP during his nine seasons with the Rockets.

Morey’s ability to acquire Harden was part of the reason the Sixers named him team president in November 2020. Former Sixers minority owner Michael Rubin wanted Harden and Embiid to form one of the NBA’s best duos.

Then, two summers ago, Harden took a pay cut to help Morey and the Sixers with salary-cap flexibility. Harden took $15 million less and signed a two-year deal with a player option in the second year after he opted out of a $47.36 million player option for the 2022-23 season.

» READ MORE: Why have the Celtics soared while the Sixers keep processing? One team has been shrewd.

By picking up that option, the perennial All-NBA selection would have been eligible to sign a four-year, $233 million contract extension that would pay him $61.7 million in the 2026-27 season.

But he opted out and allowed the Sixers to bolster their depth, adding toughness during free agency by signing veteran forward P.J. Tucker with the full mid-level exception and forward Danuel House Jr. with the biannual exception.

“Me and the front office had a very, very good relationship, like I said, for a decade,” Harden said in October, declining to call Morey by name. “There was constant communication. There was no communication once we lost [in May 2023 to the Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs].”

That’s when Harden said he realized the relationship was fractured and trust was lost.

Last summer, sources said, Harden was upset that Morey did not negotiate a contract with him before the free-agency period. Another source denied that.

Even if the Sixers did negotiate a deal, would the annual salary be more than the $35.6 million Harden picked up on June 29? Sources have said the Sixers were not willing to hinder the team’s short- or long-term future by overpaying for Harden.

But ...

“People are going to disagree, but we never got to a point to even discuss contracts with him, and I know people are saying this and that and everything,” Morey said in May. “But that is literally a fact that we wanted to have those discussions with them and never did.”

So when Harden, now 34, opted into his deal for the 2023-24 season, he did so with the expectation that Morey would trade him, preferably to his hometown Clippers.

» READ MORE: Daryl Morey blew it when he traded Patrick Beverley and Marcus Morris from the Sixers

But there was no traction on a deal, leading the Sixers to break off negotiations in August.

Harden then set his sights on Morey at an Aug. 14 event in China.

“Daryl Morey is a liar, and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,” Harden said during the promotional event. “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 missed media day and the first day of Sixers training camp. He rarely scrimmaged, did not participate in any preseason games, and missed the season-opening loss at the Milwaukee Bucks before being traded to the Clippers.

In Los Angeles, Harden, George, and Kawhi Leonard formed a solid core the Clippers want to bring back.

As a Southern California native, George loves being close to family and friends. But he wants a four-year deal, and the Clippers weren’t willing to offer more than a three-year, $152.3 million extension.

The Sixers can offer him four years and $212 million. It’s easy to say take the money. But before his trade, Harden was asked if his relationship with Morey could be repaired. “No,” he said.

How much will Harden’s grudge toward Morey influence George’s decision? And how will discussions with former Sixers Marcus Morris Sr., Tucker, and Beverley, who were teammates of George, influence the Clippers star?