James Harden on Kevin McHale: "He's a clown. He never taught me anything"

no he won't. This wont be a George Karl/Carmelo Anthony type of situation. Media HATES James Harden. They will side with Mchale.

 

I had this to say in the other thread when McHale critisized Harden for not being a leader...

Similarly,

Nothing wrong with what Harden said.

We already know that.

Kevin McHale was a great basketball player but he is not a good coach.

He used to let Airemy Lin draw up plays for him ffs




Oh, and this gettin gud..

 

As a former player who's old school I was surprised mchale put his former player on blast like that actually. You would think if anyone would uphold locker room rules it would be former players themselves.

 

Harden's not wrong.

But at the same time I can't see any good coming out of this.

 

Sigh

This is why WB was MVP. Harden missed the Golden Opportunity to say, "Who's he?"

 

Harden missed his opportunity that's for sure. He could have shaded Mchale with a one-liner that perfectly encapsulated his contempt and apathy. Media is a bunch of mean girls at heart and love that petty ****.

 

Harden is great for this now come out and play even better. McFail as a coach was a terrible two faced demotivating useless no vision or identity driven piece of ****.

 

Someone knew when he said Coach (McHale) matter maybe just 5%.

 

I feel like Harden is the type of athlete that understands criticism. He should know that players of all levels are always criticized, so this isn't new to him. He knows he's put under a microscope, but he doesn't respond to it because he understands it's just normal.

This is different though. It's not just another guy saying this stuff. It's not someone on TNT, ESPN, or Bleacher Report. This is his former coach. The guy he played under for four seasons. This is something Harden least expected. It's okay to have disagreements with your coaches. It happens all the time, but to openly talk **** is very low. Whether it's a player going at his former coach first, or the coach going at the player first it's wack and uncalled for.

What McHale said was uncalled for. I think we all know that Harden may be lacking in the leadership department. Even James knows it himself which is why in every interview when people ask him what stuff has he worked on in the summer one of the first things he says is "leadership." Harden is very aware of his faults, and knows he needs to get better. (Imo realizing your faults and working on them is a sign of solid leadership.)

But hearing your former coach talk trash about you, and essentially slandering you on TV for no reason... That's uncalled for and I completely understand why Harden is upset about it. It's not about what was said, but about who said it.

James knows he's not the perfect leader, and this isn't about "Well, McHale wasn't wrong..." People who are thinking and responding that way are missing the point.

I know McHale doesn't owe Harden anything, but just because he isn't his coach anymore it doesn't mean that McHale is free to say what he said.

 

well . . . I think it was probably disingenuous for Harden to say about McHale's firing, "And I didn't have anything to do with that." He was a little too quick to say that, and I'm sure that's gonna open the door for another round in this pissing match with McHale likely responding to Harden's statement.

definitely a soap opera.

 

Harden's comments really shouldn't excite me as much as it is right now, but it does. Usually harden would sidestep a question and gives off this sense that he doesn't care. Now he is overtly coming out and saying what's on his mind is exciting. I'm ready for the James Harden "F**k all you guys" attitude.

 

You know the media got receipts.. Instead of getting on Mchale about what he said about Harden they will speculate about why Mchale was fired and what hand did Harden play in it.

 

Mchale needs to coach better


Thanks Bill Obrien i agree

 

He didn’t need to respond to it and we all know this is anger. McHale taught him stuff. McHale was honest and he maybe hopes it will light a fire under his ass. I’m disappointed in Harden here since he will not learn from it. He should know people will defend McHale so it will not do anything for him.

 

When I first heard McHale say what he did I kind of blew it off knowing Harden wouldn’t address it.

But now that Harden calles him out I love it! McHale has been bitter since his firing and has taken any chance he can to talk down on Harden’s ability as a player. I’m glad Harden respondes the way he did and completely agree with everything he said about McHale not teaching him anything. Only thing he was good for was calling iso plays.

“A hoop, a hold and a hoop” lol

 

Think about what McHale is saying- he's saying that his teammates don't respect him, either. Some of whom are still on the team, like Trevor Ariza and Clint Capela. That puts them in an awkward situation, too- because if they did react that way, they obviously can't be honest about it- and they can very well be asked of it. That's why it's doubly awful.

I don't think some people realize how low of a blow that is- to imply that your own teammates are ridiculing or ignoring you. The more I think about it, the more it really disgusts me what McHale said. I'm sorry I ever stood up for him while many were putting him down. What a douche.

 

This guy has to be the worst poster on clutchfans. I've been lurking this forum for like 7 years and almost every time I read a thread, I come out of it thinking Cheke64 must be mentally impaired.

 

The ESPN story did note that McHale had doubted Harden's ability to play point last October. I'm glad Harden is standing up for himself. Harden basically got McHale his 3 year extension, remember.

 

I still agree with Mchale that Harden isn't a leader, but I'm definitely having second thoughts about that anecdote about Harden talking to players in the locker room and the way Mchale divulged this information. I thought Harden would shrug this off like he always does too. This must have been deeply disrespectful to him. I have NEVER heard Harden call anyone a name.