James Harden Takes A Shot At Kyrie Irving And Explains Why He Left The Nets: “I Knew What Was Going On…”

James Harden has spoken out about why he left the Nets, and potentially taken a subtle shot at Kyrie Irving in the process.

3 Min Read

Credit: Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports

The Brooklyn Nets have a feel-good roster after the franchise traded away Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant at the trade deadline. The Nets were expected to make a run for the championship this season, but Kyrie Irving’s trade request and subsequent move changed the game for the organization. They can still expect to get some impressive wins, but the Big 3 era officially ended in 2023. 

James Harden arguably started it off when he requested a trade away from the organization in 2022. He was roundly criticized for leaving what many considered a championship squad, but there was a lot of dysfunction within the franchise. Reports emerged after some time that Harden’s issues had been primarily with Kyrie Irving, who was a big distraction during his Nets tenure. 

Irving missed significant chunks of the season nearly every year for the Nets. Beyond that, his stance against the Covid-19 vaccine became a huge talking point around the Brooklyn Nets in a season they should have been focused on just playing basketball. Kyrie is also quite outspoken on some issues, and as he revealed recently James Harden just wanted to hoop. 


James Harden Hits Back At The People That Called Him Crazy For Leaving The Nets

Kyrie Irving recently opened up on the Nets and what went wrong for that version of the team and Harden isn’t far behind. He has hit back at those that questioned his trade request and even seemingly taken a shot at Kyrie Irving in the process while talking to ESPN

“Fast-forward to date, I don’t look like the crazy one. I don’t look like the guy or the quitter or whatever the media want to call me. I knew what was going on and I just decided to … hey, I’m not built for this. I don’t want to deal with that. I want to play basketball and have fun and enjoy doing it. And fast-forward to today, they’ve got a whole new roster.”

When he talks about ‘not dealing with that’, it could be inferred as the drama that came with Kyrie Irving during his Nets tenure. James Harden is all about playing basketball, and there was a point where it seemed like the Nets were about anything but that. The important thing seems to be that all 3 stars are now contenders and happy where they are, it remains to be seen how they will perform when the postseason comes along. 

We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.

Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.

Newsletter

Stay up to date with our newsletter on the latest news, trends, ranking lists, and evergreen articles

Follow on Google News

Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We appreciate your support.

Share This Article
Follow:
Divij Kulkarni is an NBA columnist for Fadeaway World. He has covered the NBA and the English Premier League, with 4 years of experience in creating sports content. Finding exciting and intriguing content about all things NBA is both his job and his passion. Divij loves the Dallas Mavericks and can be regularly observed getting emotional during games. Outside of basketball, he enjoys reading fantasy and sci-fi novels, consuming copious amounts of movies and TV, and spending time with his dog, Olivia. Expertise: NBA, Historical Sports ResearchFavorite Team: Dallas MavericksFeatured On HoopsHype, Sports Illustrated, Secret Base, MSNPrevious Work: Tribuna
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *