76ers made cold-blooded move to complete James Harden trade

Feb 15, 2022; Camden, NJ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey speaks with the media at Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia 76ers moved on from one bearded shooting guard this week. The transaction also resulted in them getting rid of another.

The Sixers finally pulled off the James Harden trade that had been brewing for months. Full details of the deal can be found here.

Philadelphia, however, received more players than it sent out. Veteran Danny Green became a casualty of the resulting roster congestion. The Sixers needed to waive the 3-time NBA champion to free up a roster spot for the incoming players.

The move came after Green had reportedly agreed to take a $300k pay cut to help the Sixers out with tax purposes, according to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes. The Sixers negotiated with him to restructure his contract before the start of the season.

On a recent episode of the “Inside the Green Room” podcast, Green opened up about the moment Sixers president Daryl Morey informed him that he was being waived. Morey called Green up at around 2:30 in the morning, which was minutes after news of the trade broke.

“This happens as I’m almost done unpacking all my stuff. We just moved in about a week ago, just got the family here a week ago. The wife, the baby, and the dogs. So we just got somewhat settled in the crib for about seven days. And now it’s like, you’ve got to figure it out,” Green said.

Danny Green says he was 90% finished unpacking when he got the call that he was being waived 😥

“This happens as I’m almost done unpacking all my stuff. We just moved in about a week ago, just got the family here a week ago…and now it’s like ‘you gotta figure it out’”

[via… pic.twitter.com/lJH0kfs1xr

— BASKETBALL ON 𝕏 (@BasketballOnX) November 2, 2023

Green signed a 1-year, 2.7 million contract with the Sixers in early September. He had already given them a discount, and they still cut him — right as he was getting settled in to the city.

The Sixers can still opt to bring back Green later in the season, but they would need to clear up another roster spot for him.

Philadelphia now reportedly has its sights set on two star guards to potentially fill the void left by Harden. The Sixers’ roster could still be in flux.