When players jump teams, and if the move was not that well-received in the NBA community, poor performances get magnified and can attract more fire than usual. Bradley Beal, for one, wasn’t terrible at the Phoenix Suns, but he was often portrayed as a weak addition to the roster.
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Recently, Beal spoke about how narratives are shaped in the league circles. He spoke from experience while also bringing in another star who has suffered from this in recent years: James Harden.
Beal, who joined the Los Angeles Clippers ahead of the 2025-26 season, will team up with Harden, who has been in LA since 2023. But Harden’s reputation has taken a hit, of late. Ever since he packed his bags and moved away from the Philadelphia 76ers after just a few months in the City of Brotherly Love.
Beal, on Media Day in Inglewood, recalled talking to Harden about how he got to the Clippers. He realized and acknowledged just how unfair the media and the NBA community as a whole have been to him. The former Washington Wizards star also hinted at finding similarities between Harden’s treatment in Philadelphia and his treatment in Phoenix.
“Talking to JH and his journey of how he got here, I was like, okay, it’s funny how you said I still shot 50%, right. And everybody, you say what you want to say, they kind of did that to JH. And he helped [Joel] Embiid get an MVP in Philly,” Beal told Lou Williams.
It was a fair assessment of Harden’s time in Philly. He wasn’t at his ‘Houston Rockets-best’, but by no means was he bad.
Harden played second-fiddle to Embiid mainly, and that’s because the team was centered around him. Still, he averaged 20 points a game and led the league in assists per game in 2022-23, the season Embiid won MVP.
The media, however, expected more from Harden. And when he didn’t fulfill them, questions of ethics and commitment were highlighted. He was lambasted further when he moved to the Clippers, where he partnered up with Kawhi Leonard.
It took some time for Harden’s image to be restored, which happened in 2024-25. Once again, he looked sharp and played a key role in the Clippers’ run to the playoffs. His performances even got him a spot on the All-NBA Third team, his first All-NBA selection since 2020, when he was with the Nets.
Now that Harden looks well settled, he will be aiming to take the next step and reach the NBA Finals to win his first championship ring. The Clippers have assembled a strong team to achieve just that. And Beal, who averaged 20 points as the third option behind Kevin Durant and Devin Booker with the Suns, has been brought in to contribute toward that goal.
