This article was clearly written with a lot of hindsight and sour grapes lmao Harden has definitely been one of the most bipolar NBA superstars and deserves a lot of the backlash he has received recently and since he started flaunting his superstar power over the franchises he’s a part of, most notably after the 2019 season and his infamous “I know exactly what to do” after losing to the Warriors again. But let’s not pretend he is the only superstar to flaunt that kind of power or that the Rockets, namely Morey and Tillman, weren’t feeding into his power when they could have stemmed it. Jimmy Bulter forced his way out of Minny in a very petty way, found his way to Philly then ditched to Miami all within a year and a few months and now he is beloved. Lebron James consistently using his power to force the hand of his teams with passive aggressive comments. Anthony Davis fakes injuries, sits out, telling the Pelicans to trade me now. Kyrie Irving forced his way out of Boston, then did whatever he did with the Nets. And of course, Ben Simmons who the Nets just traded Harden for. Its a Superstar Culture Issue in the NBA. The NBA gives too much power to its players and especially its superstars and when certain players exercise that power, the media goes all up in arms, “how could they do this?!”, “x player is a terrible teammate.”, etc. But at the same time, the media is so quick to discount a player if they don’t win enough, win rings, or play the “right” way. This is where I can sympathize with Harden because I think he always wanted to win with Houston. I remember that interview he had with Rachel Nichols in 2019 when he was doing his “Unstoppable Tour” and he said “everything is going to happen in Houston.” But then a lot of people in the media were criticizing Harden and his style of play (“The Dribbler”) even though he was the only reason the Rockets were winning for much of that season when Paul and Capela were out. Then the 2019 playoffs happened and once again, the Rockets fell short against the Warriors. Chris Paul had a terrible series, as did Capela and most of the team except Gordon. And we all know what happened after that. As much as Harden wanted to “win in Houston, doing it his way”. He probably felt the pressure to win and cement his legacy was starting to close especially with Paul. Just a very big lapse in judgement seeing how Paul has thrived (and has been healthy) since then while his new backcourt mates (WB, Wall, Irving) have all had their own issues. With the Nets, Harden was definitely the most reliable of the Big 3 with KD’s injuries and Irving’s off the court issues. Let’s not pretend Harden was a complete no show or didn’t want to make it work. And now he keeps digging his own hole deeper and deeper with his move to Philly. Harden is not innocent of his diva/flamboyant attitude but there should be more context than just “Harden has always been a cancer”.
/thread the narrative is funny tho Harden played on a grade 2 hamstring to try and help BK last postseason…meanwhile, Kyrie will gladly miss home playoff games while perfectly healthy if the mandate isn’t lifted Harden was barely in BK 1 season, and yet he played more games than Kyrie who’s been there since 2019
Sorry typo.... the chances of the Sixers winning a title have just gone way up and way down for the Nets.
This all started with an attempt to burnish his reputation and solidify himself among the all time greats. No matter what happens from this point forward, his attempt to burnish has ended with tarnish. Who is Tramel anyways? Have a Berry nice day......
Harden is a pain in the ass. He literally QUIT on Houston after they bent over backwards to build the team he wanted. No sympathy, he is a selfish ******* - who deserves whatever he gets..... He is a great 1v1 basketball player, but most players would hate playing in a ball dominated Harden offense......stand around and shoot...yuck. Good riddance......let the strippers cry for their lost revenue......this Houston Rockets fan is glad he is gone. DD
Daryl Morey babied the **** out of Harden in Houston. Morey and Harden want to get back to feeding off each others man boobs.
It also solidies himself as a crybaby. I think it is rare to see someone sulking their way out of 2 teams in 2 years time. I do love myself some more drama.
Chris Paul is the only one where those 2 should have found a way to work things out. Dwight, Westbrook, and Kyrie are all unusually difficult guys to play with. The Kyrie case is the most understandable for Harden to want out.
Harden is like the Avatar Whenever he is needed most he dissappears It's why the Rockets could never get over the hump The Nets needed him with KD injured and Kyrie not playing home games. He quit on them. Now the 76ers need him to be a one two punch with Embiid and bring home a Championship. When they need him most will he be there for them or will he be scoping out the next team he wants to go to?
OBVIOUSLY he has the RIGHT to CHOSE whether or not to resign.... but the fact remains, that HIS DECISION NOT TO RE-SIGN forced the Nets hand - and they HAD TO TRADE HIM - or risk having no return for EVERYTHING they gave up to get him... Just bc he didnt hold a gun to their head doesnt mean he didnt force the events - just like he did here... and idk what conversations took place (and neither do you)... If the Nash n the Nyets went to Harden prior to trading for him... and he said that he wanted to go there for the long haul... then, i would say he 'owes them something'.... If he said "you can trade for me - but no guarantees that I will stay" - then no, he doesnt owe them anything... Why do people insist on sticking up for this egotistical self absorbed narcissistic asshat? Stockholm syndrome from supporting him all those years?
FORCED LOL The only thing forced is your point of view. They coulda kept him for the season if they chose. They asked him about the extension he answered they chose to trade. Basically youre proving my point about everyone trying ot paint Harden as a monster here.
