This year’s NBA trade deadline was a fun one, where several big-name players found new homes. The drama remained high due to a lack of predictability, and many of those players ended up in spots that few people had foreseen.
Advertisement
James Harden, for instance, went from leading a Clippers team that had pulled itself out of the gutter to seemingly out of nowhere wanting out in a matter of days. And the Beard landed in Cleveland after being traded for Darius Garland and a second-round pick.
The early returns on that move for the Cavs have been good. They’ve continued their hot streak by winning three straight since Harden arrived. After smoking the Wizards by 25 last night, Harden, who is now on his sixth NBA team after previous stops in OKC, Houston, Brooklyn, Philly, and L.A., was asked about loyalty.
The 2017-18 MVP gave a very interesting answer. “The whole quote-unquote loyalty thing, I think it’s overrated,” he said.
“This is a business at the end of the day, and there’s a lot of money involved, and a lot of decisions that has to be made,” Harden added, before talking about how teams will cut or trade players who aren’t producing, yet when unhappy players force a trade to get themselves to better situations, it’s frowned upon.
This is the age of player empowerment. Athletes not only earn more than ever before but also can exert more influence on their destinies than they could in the past. Harden has taken full advantage of that as he’s bounced around the league in his 17-year pro career.
“Not even just the NBA, but people that have normal jobs have those same problems,” continued Harden.
“It’s just not magnified. For me, I don’t lose focus of trying to compete for a championship, and then financially, making sure that my family is taken care of. Because I’m very smart, and I’ve sacrificed a lot financially, which I don’t get credit, it don’t get talked about, but I’m fulfilled, and I’m happy with it,” he explained.
Harden is well within his rights to play where he pleases. And, as an eight-time All-NBA selection and three-time scoring champ, he’s had a Hall of Fame-level career.
According to Spotrac, Harden will have made over $411 million in career earnings by the time this season is done. And that doesn’t even count any endorsements, shoe deals, etc. Players can take control of their situations and not feel bad about it, but when they start talking about wanting credit for “sacrificing” when they’re closing in on half-a-billion, it begins to sound a little bizarre.
Harden also talked about his desire to win a championship being so important. Maybe that’s what he’s been searching for his whole career as he’s flitted from place to place. However, it comes off a bit tone deaf since he’s also torpedoed his own teams time and again by forcing his way out.
Harden is a great player, and maybe he’ll finally find what he’s looking for in Cleveland. Hopefully, he can before the clock runs out on his career.
