Did James Harden and the 76ers circumvent the salary cap last summer?

Harden told an audience in China that Morey was a "liar," but he didn't specify what Morey lied to him about.

The Beard could be talking about his decision to opt into his contract for 2023-24. In June, ESPN reported that Harden "decided with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey that they would start working on a way to move Harden." Since then, other NBA executives have described the Sixers' asking price for Harden as "unreasonable," leading to the stalemate they're in.

If Morey truly isn't making trade offers in good faith, that could explain Harden's accusation. But if he's talking about last summer, then the Sixers could be vulnerable to an NBA investigation.

Harden opted out of his contract last June and signed for $14 million less. There's nothing illegal about that unless the 76ers promised or even implied a quid pro quo—an agreement that they'd take care of Harden this summer in exchange for his financial sacrifice. Then, it's a big violation.

The most famous example of cap circumvention occurred when Joe Smith signed a series of small deals with the Minnesota Timberwolves with the promise of a max contract later. When the NBA discovered the illegal deal, they fined Minnesota $3.5 million and their next five first-round picks, and suspended both the GM and team owner for a year.

It doesn't matter if Philadelphia didn't end up signing Harden in the end. The Milwaukee Bucks lost a second-round pick for tampering in a Bogdan Bogdanovic sign-and-trade that never ended up happening. More recently, the Sixers lost two second-round picks for tampering with P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr. last summer.

While there's only Harden's word to support the idea of cap shenanigans, that could be enough for the NBA to investigate. And if they find any secret arrangements or illegal communications, then a disgruntled All-Star may be only the start of Philadelphia's problems.