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The fine was in response to a since-deleted social media post Daryl Morey made on Dec. 20 regarding Rockets star James Harden. https://t.co/8kEDu2zhZV
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 28, 2020
Stop me if you’ve heard this one but Daryl Morey is in trouble for a post on one of his social media accounts. Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Sixers team President will be fined $50,000 for a post about his former player, former MVP and three-time scoring champ, James Harden. Once you see the (since deleted) post you may begin to wonder if this is really necessary or a mite harsh. It appeared to be an automated congratulatory post for Harden, the player who Morey famously acquired (along with help from his former lieutenant, former Sixers’ team President, Sam Hinkie) from Oklahoma City in one of the greatest fleecings in NBA history. (Let’s see if I can work the word former in a few more times here). It’s understandable that Morey still has love and wants to show it for a player he may feel especially close to. But it’s been reported that the Sixers are among one of the teams Harden wants to play for, and some speculate Ben Simmons could be involved in any potential deal. Because of these stories, the league may be monitoring any possible tampering issue extra extra closely.
There was once a rumor that never materialized that the Sixers had a verbal agreement in place with former center Al Horford, in advance of June 30th, 2019’s free agency. It’s not the first time someone has wondered if the Sixers were jumping the gun on player movement.
And Morey has been “in trouble” for his social media handle before, igniting a firestorm when he shared something that said “Fight For Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong.”
Take a look for yourself at Morey’s recent post from December 20th, per former Liberty Baller, Kyle Neubeck, now repping The PhillyVoice:
This was the (since deleted) tweet that ultimately drew the fine for Morey. Pretty clearly an automated tweet but league is not messing around on tampering pic.twitter.com/HXvgFqGmqr
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) December 28, 2020
It seems like a case of the NBA (I imagine almost reluctantly) cracking the whip here and simply setting a precedent. While they may not think Morey had any malicious intent with what’s clearly an automated post, (year(s) lol) they may simply want to make an example and devote some punitive attention to what has actually been an issue for the league recently.
It’s probably much ado about nothing....even if James Harden is soon to be a Sixer.