James Harden is finally out of Houston and on his way to Brooklyn, where Kevin Durant, Steve Nash and perhaps Kyrie Irving will be waiting for him. The Beard has found a new home in the league after a couple of tumultuous hours that saw him calling his teammates out while John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins fired back at the Beard.
All that drama prompted the Rockets to find trade partners to ship Harden and the Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers facilitate the process. We lived a couple of tense hours but now everything is done. However, it was a shocking move and plenty of stars reacted to the news.
More recently, four of the top players in the league have expressed their feelings about that move, with some praising the Nets for landing a huge player while others didn’t have much to say and only focused on their teams.
Giannis Antetokounmpo found out about the news during his post-game interview, stating he’s off social media right now.
“It’s an amazing move for Brooklyn, obviously. They got better, way better. Having KD and James Harden’s value together in one team, that’s… But I think we got to focus on ourselves and we got to keep playing good basketball and moving forward, we’ll know how this is going.”
Los Angeles Lakers superstar also talked about the move, but he didn’t get into details, only focusing on his team and stating that trades happen every day in the league.
“Don’t really have too much of a reaction. … Trades happened today and I couldn’t allow myself to indulge in that knowing that we had a game that we had to play tonight.”
LeBron shares his reaction (or lack thereof) to James Harden being traded to the Nets: "Don't really have too much of a reaction. … Trades happened today and I couldn't allow myself to indulge in that knowing that we had a game that we had to play tonight." pic.twitter.com/hjceBOUuKD
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) January 14, 2021
Paul George, just like Giannis and LeBron, talked more about his Clippers, making it clear that that move had nothing to do with them, so he didn’t have much of a reaction, either.
“It ain’t got nothing to do with us,” PG said.
The Clippers obviously see themselves as a championship-caliber contender. Brooklyn does, too, after trading for James Harden. Paul George said he doesn't look down the road at all at another team loading up with stars: "It ain't got nothing to do with us."
— Andrew Greif (@AndrewGreif) January 14, 2021
Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry dug deep and talk about the trade and what that means for the league and how it changes things for the Nets and the rest of the league, too.
“Pretty crazy. I know, in this league, nothing should surprise you and there’s been a lot of blockbuster trades the last four, five, six years. But it’s just crazy to know that when it actually happens, the landscape of the league shifts immediately. And obviously KD being out here with the team that we had and now with Kyrie and James, it’s going to be pretty interesting to watch that come together,” Curry said, via Ali Thanawalla of NBC Sports.
When these moves happen, they sparked a lot of reactions around the league. It did happen yesterday with several NBA players, but for three of the biggest names in the league, Harden going to Brooklyn doesn’t change their perspective on their respective teams. As for Curry, he knows that move can be huge for the Nets. However, some people think that could be a disaster if certain players don’t change their mindset.
