The Kyrie Irving trade saga drew a lot of onlookers’ interest given the way it played out. James Harden, however, isn’t in that category.
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The Dallas Mavericks have finally acquired an All-Star to pair with Luka Doncic after several seasons of striking out. This is a team that is nearly always in free agency talks, but has never won the attention of any target.
Given this background, it seems but obvious that their only route to improving their roster is via a trade. However, this trade for Kyrie Irving is something that may be looked back on as a big folly in the future.
Dallas sent Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and draft compensation to Brooklyn in exchange for Irving. Most NBA fans would grade this trade as a bigger success for the Nets than for the Mavericks.
Now, if the Clippers face Dallas in yet another playoff series, Kawhi will just hunt both of their star players in ball-screens down the stretch
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) February 5, 2023
That desire to win now in Dallas was never more evident than it was in winning the race for Kyrie, writes @ShamsCharania. https://t.co/Me3kcAZqGo pic.twitter.com/ljWZrkuWKe
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 6, 2023
James Harden provides a lukewarm response when asked about the Kyrie Irving trade
The New York Knicks came back from 21 points down in the first quarter to take down the Sixers tonight. It was their largest win of the season, and the second time this week that Doc’s team has let slip a 20-point lead.
James Harden wasn’t particularly effective while scoring the ball tonight as he only took 12 shots. He did, however, have 12 assists. The Sixers were -26 in the 10 minutes they didn’t have him on the floor.
Given this backdrop, it makes sense that Harden entered the post-game presser in a cold mood. And given his frosty relationship with Kyrie since his last days in Brooklyn, it was expected that he wouldn’t quite be ready to talk about his trade – especially after a loss.
When asked to comment about the trade that went down earlier this afternoon, James Harden was passive-aggressive. He mentioned that it was a ‘trade that certainly happened’ and left it at that.
James Harden not expansive on his former teammate Kyrie Irving’s being traded to Dallas:
“It’s a trade that happened.”
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) February 6, 2023
Why don’t Kyrie and Harden see eye to eye?
Harden reportedly was frustrated when Kyrie refused to take the Covid-19 vaccine at the start of last season. He correctly believed that his unavailability was hampering the Nets’ ceiling.
When Kevin Durant went down for an extended period, Harden would definitely have welcomed the help Irving could’ve provided. But Kyrie remained steadfast in his intent not to get the vaccine administered.
It came to a point where the tensions between the two grew too much. After Harden requested and got his trade to Philly, Kyrie wasted no time in putting his former teammate down with the press.
Given all of this, it is hardly surprising that Harden and Kyrie aren’t really the best of chums. One wonders what they might have achieved had they been able to stay together in Brooklyn.
