A lot of unkind things were said about James Harden when he decided to up and leave the Brooklyn Nets in 2022.
I know I said some mean things about him.
And I’m not trying to defend my negative thoughts here, but it did seem like he quit on the team.
First, he asked to get traded from the Houston Rockets -a team that he grew up with and helped grow- because he felt they didn’t have a chance at winning a championship title.
Then, after getting traded to a title contender, he bounced after a couple of seasons because the Brooklyn Nets weren’t meeting their potential.
Based on these events, how could you not hate on him?
Well, apparently there was a lot more to these events and the hate he got was not warranted.
Harden On His Time With the Nets
After leaving Brooklyn, Harden kept quiet. He just focused on basketball and did his thing in Philadelphia.
Until recently…
If you were following the NBA at all during trade deadline week, then you know the Nets did a lot.
They traded both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant -two of the superstars they brought Harden in to play with- away.
And the key reason why is because of internal conflict, something that encouraged Harden to leave in the first place.
Speaking to reporters, Harden said the reason he left Brooklyn is the same reason as why the other two stars left.
Via ESPN:
"I was in a really good place in Houston. Obviously, we didn't have a chance to win a championship, but I was comfortable. So for me to up and leave my family, all the things I created there, to come to Brooklyn for a year and a half to try to just get up and leave, it was for a reason, you know what I mean?
“…but it was just a lot of dysfunction. Clearly. But it was a lot of internal things that I'm not going to ever just say, put in the media or anything. And that was one of the reasons why I chose to make my decision.”
He added that a lot of false things were said about him after he got traded to the 76ers.
But now, with the Nets’ recent overhaul, his name should be cleared of all charges.
"But now, fast-forward to date, I don't look like the crazy one. I don't look like the guy or the quitter or whatever the media want to call me. I knew what was going on and I just decided to ... hey, I'm not built for this. I don't want to deal with that. I want to play basketball and have fun and enjoy doing it. And fast-forward to today, they've got a whole new roster."
Final Thoughts
Controversy has always seemed to follow Harden. But I guess it’s just the media making up the drama to get clicks.
Who would’ve thought that they would resort to such tactics?
And for views? Terrible.