‘There was no structure’: Harden rips Nets in first tell-all interview since Simmons trade

James Harden’s time with the Nets was transient, sophisticated and in the end a flop.

But the organisation was as a lot in charge as anybody, based on Harden.

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“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,” Harden stated in an interview with Fox Sports in an interview that befell 5 days earlier than the Nets fired Steve Nash and was printed over the weekend (all occasions AEDT).

“That’s what allows us to be the best players and leaders for our respective organisations.

“I just feel like 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 (Kevin Durant) wanted to leave. So it’s like: Am I still the quitter?”

After the Nets traded for Harden in January 2021 to type what it figured could be a championship Big 3 with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, it wasn’t lengthy earlier than the experiment began to dissolve.

Harden had hamstring points throughout the season and Irving was a part-time participant as a result of he refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Durant was additionally bothered by what sort of form Harden was in and the 2 butted heads over it, sources advised Fox Sports.

The Nets reached the Eastern Conference semi-finals however misplaced to the eventual NBA champion Bucks.

“Once it got to a certain point, James was just over all of it,” a Nets staffer advised the outlet.

Things had been after all even worse final season. The Big 3 performed simply 16 video games collectively earlier than Harden compelled his approach out of city and was traded to the Sixers as a part of a blockbuster deal that introduced again Philadelphia’s personal disgruntled star Ben Simmons and Brooklyn was bounced within the first spherical of the playoffs by the Celtics.

Meanwhile in Philly, Harden was roasted for taking simply two pictures within the second half of the Sixers’ listless Game 6 loss to the Heat within the Eastern Conference semis.

This season, the Nets and Sixers are fourth and fifth, respectively, within the standings, with Brooklyn holding a one-game lead over Philadelphia after Irving’s buzzer-beater on Friday night time to beat the Raptors. Still, the query of what may’ve been will proceed to linger till one in every of them wins a championship.

“Who said it didn’t work out?” Harden stated of his time with the Nets. “We just didn’t have enough talent. There were better teams than us. But if we had won, everything would have been cool.”

-This article was first printed within the New York Post and reproduced with permission