James Harden isn’t surprised that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving wanted out of Brooklyn, quickly tiring of the “procrastination” he saw in his brief time with the Nets and asking out.
“I didn’t ask to leave for no reason,” Harden said.
Harden was traded to Philadelphia at the 2022 trade deadline. By the time he returned on Saturday for the first time in the regular season just over a year later, Durant and Irving were gone as well.
He wouldn’t be so quick to specify his reasons for the sourness, but made clear he felt there were problems within the Nets organization.
“There was just a lot of inefficiency — frankly. There was a lot of internal stuff that I was never going to say or put out to the media or anything, and that was one of the reasons I made the decision to make my decision,” Harden told the 76ers. Said after scoring 29 points in the ‘ 101-98 victory.
“But now, fast forward to today, I don’t look like crazy,” he said. “I don’t look like the guy, or the quitter or whatever the media wants to call me. Like, I knew what was going on and I just decided, like, I’m not made for this. I don’t want to deal with I want to play basketball and have fun and enjoy doing it.
Harden was acquired from Houston in January 2021, and the Nets quickly became a championship favorite with their powerful lineup. But they lost in the second round of the playoffs against Milwaukee after both Irving and Harden suffered injuries, then struggled to get off the field in 2021-22 when Irving refused to get vaccinated against the coronavirus so he could play all of his games. Be eligible to play in matches. Play.
After Durant sprained his knee in January 2022, the Big Three were often down to just one and Harden’s effort and interest seemed to dwindle while he was forced to carry a team that was surrounded by Unproven players were to play. He told the organization he wanted to leave, and the Nets sent him to the 76ers in a package for Ben Simmons.
Harden wouldn’t say if the Nets’ problems — or their frustrations — began with difficulty being able to trust Irving.
“I mean, it’s not something I’m going to answer,” Harden said. “But the reason I decided to get out of my comfort zone, which was left Houston and all I did to get out there was play with KD and Kyrie. And with that said It has been that it has not happened as much as I wanted or maybe the organization wanted.
It turned out only 16 games.
Durant originally asked for a trade last summer and finally got it on Thursday when the Nets dealt him to the Phoenix Suns. A few days earlier, the Nets moved quickly to accept Irving’s request to leave by dealing him to the Dallas Mavericks.
“There’s a lot of potential for what could happen, but that’s part of life,” Harden said. “Move on, and I’m sure everyone is in a better place, a better place.”