Former LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Richard Jefferson recently showed up on the Road Trippin’ podcast. Speaking about the drama surrounding the $35,640,000 earner James Harden, Jefferson questioned the player’s professionalism. He claimed that while other older guys, such as Chris Paul, are professional enough to be paid big money even in their later years, James Harden is not.
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Jefferson spoke at length about Harden’s controversies off the court. He claimed that in addition to his steady decline, Harden’s attitude means that none of the serious franchises are willing to take a punt on the 34-year-old. He claimed that Harden was one of several older players who have kind of struggled with their transition in later years.
Richard Jefferson questions James Harden’s professionalism as he continues pushing for a trade
Channing Frye initially claimed that he could see the likes of the Spurs and the Miami Heat taking a punt on Harden. While the suggestion has been that Harden has a chance of “falling in line” in a franchise that offers structure, Jefferson had his doubts.
He claimed that Harden would in all probability lose that battle, and end up falling out. Furthermore, he talked about how Harden is not the only player who has struggled to transition his career to the present generation.
Frye suggested that this was because the new generation was so good, that they were effectively making franchises reluctant to take chances on players who might not integrate well. Harden, according to Jefferson, is one such player, unlike Chris Paul:
“I don’t see Pat Riley, oh man, It wouldn’t be a test, he would lose that battle. Either he would fall in line or he would lose that battle. And I mean that with a 100% respect. That will be like two Bulls, like him going to San Antonio, who is gonna win that battle? Either he is gonna fall in line with Pop, or he’s like, that’s not the situation. More of the point is this, we have seen it time and time again, and it is very difficult. We are seeing players from our generation, and now these slightly younger generation, deal with the transition of their careers. Sometimes, you get guys like Chris Paul, not the most popular guy in the world, but he is extremely professional when he handles his business. So this man’s money, even though he is 36 37, that is why he is making that money.”
Jefferson went on to question Harden’s professionalism, claiming that he is simply not the kind of guy whom teams will want around their youngsters:
“And now we have guys who are 33. Is James Harden as professional? You know, do we really wanna be paying that money to the guy at 35 36? He is not scoring 35 and 9 anymore, he is 22. Do we wanna have him around our young guys? James doesn’t seem like the type of guy who would fall in.”
The result seems to be that Harden’s future is highly uncertain, despite the fact that we are mere weeks away from the tip-off of the new season.
Stephen A. Smith also questioned James Harden’s attitude amidst the 76ers’ drama
Stephen A. Smith also had a similar opinion on James Harden. He claimed that Harden needed the kind of discipline Pat Riley and the Miami Heat could provide to him.
Smith claimed that while Harden was still an All-Star caliber player, no team should “ideally pursue him.” Talking about his shenanigans off the court, Smith had a similar conclusion as Richard Jefferson.
He said that Harden still has a chance of succeeding at a franchise that he respects and has structure. While Smith, like Jefferson, is not a fan of his antics, there is little doubt that both of them are still respectful of the kind of talent that he possesses.
