James Harden’s stint with the Brooklyn Nets didn’t exactly pan out.
During a recent feature interview with Yaron Weitzman of Fox Sports, the NBA superstar revealed that the infrastructure of the Nets organization wasn’t what he expected when he first arrived in 2020.
When Harden recognized this lack of structure, he pushed for a trade away from Brooklyn — landing in Philadelphia ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Current Nets superstar Kevin Durant attempted a similar path this past offseason. Though he ultimately elected to stay put, he requested a trade away from the team during the summer.
“I just feel like, internally, things weren’t what I expected when I was trying to get traded there,” Harden said. “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?”
Harden has missed a significant portion of the season due to injury issues, but is now back on the court for the Sixers. He’s averaging 22.1 points, 10.8 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game.