James Harden has aimed a sly dig at Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets after he asked to leave the team last year before being sent to rivals Philadelphia 76ers.
Harden was traded away from the Nets after wanting a move following a slow start to the season with the team team featuring himself, Durant and Kyrie Irving - evident that the three could not co-exist together on the same roster and all thrive.
Harden would be traded to the Sixers for Ben Simmons, who would end up not being able to take the floor for the Nets, struggling with a back injury which required surgery.
It would ultimately prove to be a disappointing campaign for the Nets, with much promised after coming into the year as the favourites following their off-season acquisitions, as they were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics.
The Sixers themselves would not make too much noise with Harden and Joel Embiid either, but it seemed that both outfits felt better off after the move.
However, Durant was not happy going into the following season and requested a trade himself, as Harden sent a shot at Durant and the Nets.
Speaking to FOX Sports: "I knew people were going to talk and say, ‘You quit' and all that stuff, but then the following summer, the other superstar there wanted to leave. So it's like: Am I still the quitter?"
Durant admitted that he wanted away from the team, as he did not think they could compete for a championship with the current roster.
He said: "You seen what happened with our season, guys in and out the line-up, injuries. Just a lot of uncertainties which built a lot of doubt up in my mind about the next four years of my career.
"I mean, I'm getting older and I want to be in a place that's stable. I had some doubts about that and I voiced them to Joe Tsai [owner]. We move forward from there.
"We have people in that locker room that care. We have people in this organisation that want to see it as one of the prominent ones in sport so I'm banking on that. We have competitive people in this building. I got faith moving forward that people here want the same things, especially after a summer of us basically having a stand-off."
