James Harden’s time with the Brooklyn Nets is rapidly approaching an end point.
While it remains unclear whether the former league MVP will ultimately be traded ahead of next week’s NBA Trade Deadline, his general dissatisfaction with his current situation has reached a fever pitch.
Over the past few days, fans have been remarking about how quickly this situation has seemingly changed. Not long ago, Harden joining the Nets was seen as the final piece of a legendary super team forming. Now, it feels like everything is crumbling.
As it turns out, Harden’s frustration with the Nets has been building slowly over the past year. At its core seems to be the fact that he feels like what he was promised initially isn’t what the situation eventually turned into.
“While Harden has thrown hints that he’s not crazy about [Kyrie] Irving’s part-time status, a source with knowledge of Harden’s thinking said he’s frustrated in general with his Nets tenure. He came to Brooklyn expecting to be part of a three-headed monster, yet has played a similar role to what was required of him in Houston; having to be the guy,” wrote Sam Amick and Alex Schiffer of The Athletic.
“While Irving’s part-time status is unprecedented, a source aware of the team’s thinking said the 6-foot-2 point guard’s situation hasn’t been as much of a problem as one would expect because he’s played hard when available, albeit in a limited capacity.”
All of this has manifested itself in some pretty uncomfortable exchanges. This now-viral video showing how icy things have gotten between Harden and Irving speaks for itself. Same with Harden’s overall attitude towards his part-time teammate.
Oklahoma sorority girls decided to expose Caleb Williams after he transferred to USC. https://t.co/4t4pHwzoWm
— Game 7 (@game7__) February 5, 2022
It will be interesting to see what develops in the next few days. The Philadelphia 76ers clearly want a Harden-for-Ben Simmons trade to get done, but there is one player they are refusing to include as an add-on in any prospective deal. That could torpedo things.
But even if Harden doesn’t get dealt – the writing is on the wall. His Nets tenure is coming to an end. At this point it’s not a matter of if, just when.
Related: Is A Big NBA Trade Brewing Knicks And Mavericks?
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
