James Harden left the Brooklyn Nets in the midst of incredible drama. Harden’s exit was the certain end of the super team in New York. But far more than the trade, the manner of his exit hurt the franchise and its morale. In fact, the whole energy in Brooklyn’s camp was heavy with obvious conflicts.
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Kyrie Irving’s future in the league was uncertain because of the vaccination mandate. Then Kevin Durant tore his MCL and was out for an extended time. So, when Harden finally left, there was a lot of criticism against him. His loyalty was questioned and his motives were challenged.
Now that even Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant have left, James Harden is finally speaking up about it.
James Harden opens up on the Brooklyn Nets saga
Harden recently spoke after the heartbeat-raising trade deadline that just passed. Both of his teammates have been traded in the last week and now none of the ‘greatest trio’ in Brooklyn’s history are left there.
James Harden feels he left the team at the right time. His exit followed further decline for the team, while Harden has thrived in Philadelphia since. Daily News reported that he revealed his reasons for parting ways with the Nets.
Harden: “There was a lot of things. A lot of dysfunction, clearly. There was a lot of internal things. I’m not gonna just put it in the media or anything, and that was one of the reasons why I chose to make my decision. Now, fast forward to today, I don’t look like the crazy one. I don’t look like the quitter or whatever the media wanna call me.”
He continued: “I knew what was going on and I just decided I’m not built for this. I don’t wanna deal with that. I wanna play basketball and have fun and enjoy doing it. Fast forward to today, they got a whole new roster.”
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant now play in the West
While Harden stayed in the East when he left Brooklyn, both Durant and Kyrie moved to the West. While Irving is now a Mavericks star, Durant has joined Phoenix’s ranks.
Kyrie, in fact, has already played 3 games for Dallas. Irving is averaging 3.66 threes per game there. On the other hand, Durant is yet to debut. He is still recovering from the MCL sprain and will only return after the All-Star break. Exciting time for the Western Conference.
