Trading Away James Harden
After giving up three first-round picks, four first-round pick swaps, Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and others, the Nets acquired James Harden from the Houston Rockets on January 14, 2021. Just about 13 months later on February 10, 2022, the Nets traded James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers, along with Paul Millsap, for All-Star Ben Simmons, Andre Drummond, Seth Curry and two first-round picks.
The marriage between Harden and Brooklyn failed miserably and there really is not one person that can be blamed.
Injuries and the constant change played a huge role in Harden’s decision to quit on the Nets, as did the fact that he was just unhappy with his situation. In Houston all of those years, James Harden was used to being “the guy” and he had the freedom to do whatever he wanted to do.
In Brooklyn though, Harden was limited due to the fact that Kevin Durant was “the guy” on this team. When you have three All-Stars on the same roster, someone is going to have to take a step back and sacrifice their production.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Grading The Nets-76ers Trade Involving Harden, Simmons
It seemed like James Harden was the only member of the Nets’ “Big 3” to sacrifice his own production to expand that of the groups and he drew a lot of backlash and criticism from the public for this, as many claimed that he was “washed” and not his “former self”.
If averaging 23.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 10.5 assists and shooting 44% from the floor in 80 career games with the Nets is considered “washed” then I guess all but 10-15 players in the league are good for nothing!
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Grading The Nets-76ers Trade Involving Harden, Simmons
James Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, three of the best offensive talents in NBA history were supposed to compete for multiple titles and possibly go down as the greatest trio in NBA history. Now, we look back and ponder the question of “what if”, as these three All-Stars only played in a total of 16 games together.
Now, a new chapter has started in the book of the Brooklyn Nets, but things are not looking too good for this franchise right now.
