As the Philadelphia 76ers prepare for the NBA Playoffs, a lot of eyes will be on James Harden. The Sixers acquired him from the Brooklyn Nets in a deal that sent Ben Simmons to New York, but there have been a lot of questions about Harden’s exit from Brooklyn.
Why leave a situation where he was playing with guys like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving? Why leave a situation where he didn’t have to be the man anymore and be able to play with arguably the best player in the league at the moment?
According to an ESPN report, Durant took issue with Harden’s conditioning when he came into training camp back in October and the two of them just went at it and they could not overcome their problems:
Sources say that much of the discontent between Harden and the Nets started in September when he arrived into training camp out of shape. Durant had been understanding of Harden’s predicament in Houston as a man in need of new scenery, but also tacitly expected his former teammate to commit himself to conditioning and self-care when he came seeking a title in Brooklyn, according to a source close to both stars. With Irving’s status already in flux due to his unwillingness to get vaccinated, Durant was astonished in the opening weeks of the season at Harden’s lack of explosiveness and sluggish play, something he attributed in large part to Harden’s being out of shape, as he did the ensuing hamstring issues.
Harden, sources say, found Durant’s slant grating and self-righteous. The two never resolved the conflict, and there was little that teammates, coach Steve Nash or Marks could do to mediate it. With each passing week, Harden became more isolated, with staff and teammates increasingly frustrated by the static. The Nets ultimately excised him from the locker room in a blockbuster trade deadline deal with Philadelphia for Ben Simmons.
It is interesting that the words “sluggish play” have been brought up now. Harden has not exactly been that explosive scorer since coming to Philadelphia, although he has been an excellent playmaker and a good teammate, but maybe there is something that is bothering him.
The playoffs will be Harden’s chance to silence a lot of doubters and show that he should still be that explosive player that is going to send him to the Hall of Fame when his career is over.
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