James Harden had a brief tenure with the Brooklyn Nets. While paired with the likes of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, the Nets were expected to do big things. In the end, however, they fizzled out as Harden requested a trade. Eventually, he was moved for Ben Simmons, who is still trying to get into a rhythm.
Overall, the Nets’ big three turned out to be extremely dysfunctional. There were rumors that Harden and Kyrie could not get along. Additionally, the team just wasn’t going anywhere in terms of the playoffs. Needless to say, both sides needed a change.
James Harden Speaks
Recently, Harden spoke to Fox Sports’ Yaron Weitzman about his time with the Nets’ organization. As you will read, he was quite honest about how the team had no structure. Additionally, he felt like Kevin Durant’s trade request was all he needed to know about what was going on.
“I don’t mean to, like, just down talk to anybody or whatever,” Harden said. “It was just, there was no structure and even superstars, they need structure. That’s what allows us to be the best players and leaders for our respective organizations.”
“I just feel like, internally, things weren’t what I expected when I was trying to get traded there,” he added. “I think everybody knows that. And I knew people were going to talk and say, ‘You quit’ and all that stuff, but then the following summer, the other superstar there [Durant] wanted to leave. So it’s like: Am I still the quitter?”
Now, Harden is on the Sixers who have a lot of pressure to win. They have yet to make it past the second round with Joel Embiid on the roster, and there is a win-now mentality going around.
Whether or not Harden can get that first championship, still remains to be seen.
[Via]