Joel Embiid: 76ers Allowed James Harden ‘To Just Be Himself’ Despite ‘Leash’ Comments

James Harden felt the Philadelphia 76ers didn’t give him the full freedom to be himself as a player, telling reporters on Thursday during his introductory press conference with the Los Angeles Clippers that his former team kept him on “a leash” offensively and that he isn’t a “system player; I am a system.”

It was all very, “I’m not a businessman / I’m a business, man.”

Bars aside, defending MVP center Joel Embiid had his own thoughts on the limitations Harden apparently felt during his time with the Sixers, though he was mostly complimentary of his former teammate:

“He had to make decisions as far as getting guys open or looking out for himself,” Embiid added of Harden’s role. “I thought he did a pretty good job of getting us into our offense, passing the ball, getting guys open. That’s the reason why he won the assists title last year.”

Embiid—who also noted that some of Harden’s issues may have come with former Sixers head coach Doc Rivers and his staff—also wished his former teammate all the best, saying he hoped the two met again in the NBA Finals:

Embiid makes a fair point. Harden regularly initiated Philadelphia’s offense, utilized his ability as a playmaker to average a league-high 10.7 assists per game and still put up 21 points per contest.

But the offense wasn’t necessarily built around Harden, but around Embiid, and for good reason—he was the MVP, after all. And that may be the real crux of Harden’s complaint. After years of having everything around him in Houston, he was a true sidekick in Philadelphia, a role he was no longer familiar playing.

Time will tell if he’s any more happy as a supporting cast member in Los Angeles behind Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.