Joel Embiid Politely Hits Back At James Harden's Claim That Sixers Kept Him On 'A Leash'
With James Harden out of Philadelphia, Joel Embiid is not wasting time or sugarcoating his reflection about sharing the floor with 'The Beard.'
It'll come as a surprise to absolutely no one that Harden immediately began running his mouth about his time with the Sixers after arriving in Los Angeles to join the Clippers.
During his introductory press conference in LA, Harden claimed that Philadelphia kept him on "a leash" before delivering one of the more eye-roll-worthy quotes in quite some time.
"I think the game and I'm a creator on the court," Harden said. "So if I got a voice to where I can, 'Hey, Coach, I see this. What you think about this?' Somebody that trusts me, that believes in me, that understands me. I'm not a system player. I am a system. You know what I mean?"
No, we don't know what you mean, actually. Maybe it's "the system's" fault that Harden is now with his fourth team since 2021. If we've learned anything about Harden over the years, nothing is his fault, ever.
With Harden running his mouth, Embiid decided to expand on his former teammate's comments during his first media availability since the trade went down. While the big man took the high road and offered up plenty of compliments he didn't agree at all with Harden's claim about being on a leash in Philly.
"I don't think so," Embiid said on Thursday night. "I think he did a lot of great things for us.
"But in my opinion, we gave him the ball every single possession, because he's really good. He's an amazing player. Obviously, being that great of a passer, I think we gave him the ball ... we'd give him the ball every single possession to just go out and, you know, do his thing. And from there he had to make decisions as far as getting guys open or looking out for himself."
The difference between Harden's comments and Embiid's really is something.
Embiid's comments reflect a true professional while Harden just comes across as a complainer. He could have very easily explained he's not focused on the past in Philadelphia and just wants to win in Los Angeles, but had to take jabs at the former franchise he poisoned.
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