NEW YORK — James Harden may have been the smartest person in the room all along.
Almost a year before the Nets traded Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks and Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns, Harden forced a trade out of Brooklyn to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Now that both Durant and Irving are gone, Harden has been vindicated. His decision to leave early showed foresight. He saw the smoke and got out of the house before it burned down.
“There was a lot of things. A lot of dysfunction, clearly. There was a lot of internal things,” he told reporters after the Sixers beat the Nets on Saturday. “I’m not gonna just put it in the media or anything, and that was one of the reasons why I chose to make my decision. Now, fast forward to today, I don’t look like the crazy one. I don’t look like the quitter or whatever the media wanna call me.
“I knew what was going on and I just decided I’m not built for this. I don’t wanna deal with that. I wanna play basketball and have fun and enjoy doing it. Fast forward to today, they got a whole new roster.”
Harden requested a trade in the middle of drama brought on by Irving, whose decision not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 left Harden with an increased workload given Durant’s absence due to injury.
Harden chose not to answer whether or not Irving’s decision not to get vaccinated was the primary reason he left Brooklyn.
“That’s not something I’m gonna answer, but the reason I made that decision to get out of my comfort zone which was to leave Houston and do everything that I did to get out of there was to come here and play with KD and Kyrie,” he said. “With that being said, that didn’t happen as much as I would have liked to or how much the organization would have wanted to. It’s just something I knew wasn’t gonna chance
“For me, I just had to make an individual decision for the betterment of my family and my career and what I wanted, and that’s what happened.”
Harden used one word to describe his time in Brooklyn.
“Frustrating,” he said. The Nets only played a total of 16 games with Harden, Irving and Durant on the roster. They had a 13-3 record in those games, but due to injury and Irving’s off-court drama, they never got to see the trio’s full potential. “There’s a lot of what-ifs. I think we only played less than 20 games together so it was a little bit frustrating, but it is what it is. Hopefully, everybody’s in a good place now and we can move on.”
Harden was also asked if Durant and Irving have commitment issues because of their history of winning championships elsewhere.
“It was a lot. I enjoyed my time,” he said. “Obviously, playing with KD and Kyrie for those games, there’s a lot of possibilities of what could happen, but it’s a part of life. I’m sure everybody’s in a better place, a good place, and here we are.”
Harden said he’s happy for the Houston Rockets, who acquired several first-round picks from the Nets in the deal that sent him to Brooklyn.
“I didn’t just ask to leave for no reason. I was in a really good place in Houston. Obviously, we didn’t have a chance to win the championship, but I was comfortable,” he said. “So for me to up and leave my family and all the things that I created there to Brooklyn for, what a year and a half? To just up and leave? It was for a real reason, but I’m happy for the organization in what they got back. They got some really good pieces.”
