Harden denies being surprised by Durant and Irving’s departure

NEW YORK (AP) — James Harden said Saturday he felt a “dysfunction” during his brief tenure with the Brooklyn Nets, so he’s not surprised Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving forced their exits as well. this team.

“I didn’t ask to leave for no reason,” Harden said.

Before the trade deadline expired in 2022, Harden was loaned out to Philadelphia. On Saturday, he played in Brooklyn for the first time since that trade.

And now the ones that are gone are Durant and Irving.

Harden did not elaborate on why his relationship with Brooklyn deteriorated so quickly. However, he made it clear that he perceived problems in the organization.

“There were a lot of dysfunctions, clearly. There were a lot of internal things. I’ll never say it in front of the press, but it’s one of the reasons I made my decision,” Harden said, after scoring 29 points as the 76ers beat Brooklyn 101-98.

“But fast forward to today. I don’t look like the madman anymore,” he added. “I don’t sound like the guy who quit or anything the press said. I knew what was going on and I just decided I wasn’t cut out for this. I didn’t want to deal with that. I wanted to play basketball and have fun and enjoy it.”

In January 2021, Harden was acquired from Houston by the Nets, who became favorites to win the title with their powerhouse trio of stars. They were eliminated in the second round of those playoffs, after Irving and Harden were injured in the series against Milwaukee.

Brooklyn struggled to get off the ground in the 2021-22 season after Irving refused to get a coronavirus shot, ruling him out of home games.

In January 2022, after Durant sprained his knee, the three-star group was often reduced to just one. Harden seemed to show less interest and effort in games, where the team had to field unproven players alongside him.

The bearded star told the organization he wanted out. The Nets got his wish by sending him to the 76ers, in exchange for Ben Simmons.

Harden didn’t say if his frustrations or the Nets’ problems started with trouble getting Irving.

“I mean, it’s not something I’m going to answer,” he said. “But the reason I made the decision to step out of my comfort zone, which was to get out of Houston and do whatever I did to get there, was to play with KD and Kyrie. didn’t happen as much as I or the organization would have liked.

In fact, it only happened in 16 games.

Durant originally requested a trade last summer and finally got it Thursday when the Nets traded him to the Phoenix Suns. Days earlier, Brooklyn had moved quickly to grant Irving’s wish, sending him to the Dallas Mavericks.

“There are a lot of things that could have happened, but that’s part of life,” Harden said. “We have to move on. I’m sure everyone is in a better place.”