The Brooklyn Nets tried to put the best offensive juggernaut in NBA history. They traded for James Harden to pair him back with Kevin Durant. Add Kyrie Irving to that mix, and you have a recipe for great success.
Or at least, that's what they thought. On paper, they had enough firepower to beat every single team on Earth. In reality, they were barely able to play together due to injuries and Kyrie Irving's vaccination fiasco.
That eventually led Harden to request a trade away from the Nets' dysfunctional dynamic. So, now that he's all settled with the Philadelphia 76ers, he finally opened up about his time in the Big Apple.
NBA News: James Harden Says Nets Had No Structure, Takes A Shot At KD
(via Fox Sports)
"Once it got to a certain point, James was just over all of it," a Nets staffer said.
I asked Harden how he'd describe his time in Brooklyn. He hesitated. His first answer was that it was tough because "I wasn't able to get healthy." Then he paused.
"I don't mean to, like, just down talk to anybody or whatever. It was just, there was no structure and even superstars, they need structure. That's what allows us to be the best players and leaders for our respective organizations," he said.
This was five days before the Nets fired head coach Steve Nash. It was also four months after Durant had asked to be traded.
"I just feel like," Harden continued, "internally, things weren't what I expected when I was trying to get traded there. I think everybody knows that. And I knew people were going to talk and say, ‘You quit' and all that stuff, but then the following summer, the other superstar there [Durant] wanted to leave. So it's like: Am I still the quitter?"
History has been tough on Harden, but it's not like he's done much to defend himself. So, it's nice to see that he's finally stepping up for himself and letting people know what happened behind closed doors.
