Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden has complained that he 'doesn't get enough credit' for taking a near $14million (£12.5m) paycut to remain with the NBA side.
Harden left the Brooklyn Nets last season in dramatic style and moved to Philadelphia to boost his chances of achieving NBA success. The 33-year-old initially signed a two-season deal, but has agreed to new terms on a reduced salary basis.
The 76ers star would have picked up roughly £42.5m this season, but opted to sign a new short-term deal instead to allow the side to have more flexibility in the free agency market. But in an unprovoked rant, Harden has taken aim at those not showing him credit.
"Nope, [I haven’t gotten enough credit]," Harden said to The Athletic. "But guess what? I don’t care. There’s like a stereotype [of me] where people always wanna talk.
"People don’t really know me, so they feel like they can just say anything. One thing I won’t do is give them any attention. I won’t say anything, media-wise, publicly. I don’t care because I’m comfortable and I’m confident in the things I do on and off the court."
Ironically, many feel as though he's done the opposite of everything he said, and proclaiming to be unselfish when wanting the recognition is also a strange strategy. But to be fair, it did help the 76ers massively.
Harden's new deal allowed them to use their mid-level exception on PJ Tucker and bi-annual exception on Danuel House. And the 76ers are looking great in pre-season.
76ers coach Doc Rivers is unbeaten in pre-season so far, winning all three of their games with one final clash against the Charlotte Hornets before the regular season tips off. And Rivers is extremely excited for the season ahead, tipping his side to be 'unbeatable'.
Rivers was seen speaking to Harden during pre-season, and said: "When it clicks James we're going to be unbeatable." And certainly on current form it seems as though that could very well be the case.
But they're going to be put to the test right from the off as their opening two games are against the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks. The Celtics are in a period of transition though, after their head coach was handed a season-long suspension.
The Bucks are forever dangerous with Giannis Antetokounmpo in attack, but with Joel Embid and Harden, this could be the 76ers' season. Harden and Rivers certainly believe so, anyway.
