Kevin McHale Calls James Harden ‘Fat,’ Accuses Star of Scheme to Get Him Fired

James Harden’s former coach has weighed in on the NBA star’s bid to ditch Philadelphia’s 76ers for the LA Clippers.

McHale, the ex-Celtics legend, coached Harden during his 2012–2015 tenure with the Houston Rockets. In a recent interview with Heavy Sports, he recalled Harden being habitually moody and concocting a scheme which got the coach fired. It began after McHale benched Harden amidst a make-or-break game against the Clippers during the 2015 Western Conference playoffs.

“The next year he came to camp, he was fat and didn’t feel like playing, and I got fired [11] games into the season,” McHale told Heavy. “He had a plan.”

McHale didn't find it surprising that Harden is currently trying to extricate himself from the Sixers after they failed to meet his salary expectations. And Harden previously played similar hands when he left Houston and Brooklyn. Of the star guard calling Sixers president of operations Daryl Morey a liar, McHale said that it was churlish to blame one person for the decisions of an entire organization.

“James wanted a big extension from Philly, and Philly wouldn’t give it to him, and that’s not a Daryl decision. Daryl’s got a part of that, of course, but that’s an owner decision. So (Harden) was really mad, saying Daryl lied to him, but, you know, maybe they saw Game [Seven] against the Celtics (nine points on three-for-11 shooting in a 24-point loss) and said, ‘I’m not interested in that.’”

“Let’s face it, if the owner looks at you and says, ‘We’re signing that dude,’ you’re signing that dude. Story’s over,” McHale stated. “And if the owner looks at you and says, ‘We’re not signing that dude,’ you’re not signing him.”