James Harden and Kyrie Irving are two of the NBA’s best scorers. Harden is averaging 24.8 PPG for the Rockets this season, despite starting the season late and out of shape. Irving is putting up 27.1 PPG for the Nets although he has missed multiple games for unknown reasons. Clearly, there are problems in the locker rooms in both franchises and there need to be solutions.
In what can be a shocking trade that rocks the NBA, the Rockets and Nets should entertain a swap deal that would send Harden to play with Durant and Irving to play in Space City. Here is why the swap of the NBA’s premier guards and scorers solves the problems for both the Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets.
Brooklyn Finish With Kyrie Irving’s Attitude And Focus On Winning With Kevin Durant
Kyrie Irving is a sensational talent, and we all know that. He won the NBA title with LeBron James in 2016 and made the biggest shot of the series to close out the Golden State Warriors in Game 7. Irving is as clutch as they come and as the best dribbler on planet Earth, he is a walking highlight reel.
But his attitude has always been a bit concerning. He forced his way out of Cleveland in abrupt fashion, effectively ending the Cavaliers’ contention in the East as LeBron James eventually left the city again to join Los Angeles. Irving then doesn’t act as a leader for the Celtics, going to Brooklyn and leaving Boston surprisingly better without him. With Brooklyn, he has been sensational….when he has been on the court.
Irving is averaging 27.1 PPG this season but has seemingly gone “off the grid” after missing a few games due to unknown reasons. While there might be critical personal issues preventing him from playing, it wouldn’t hurt to inform the team and even the media on his whereabouts. Even Irving’s sage – spreading before games look a bit strange, especially coming from a man who was adamant about the Earth being flat. Kevin Durant is back to his best and Brooklyn needs to focus on surrounding the one of a kind talent with consistent players (mentally and physically) to help him win.
James Harden is the NBA’s best scorer even if he is out of shape and unmotivated right now. Playing alongside Kevin Durant would create the greatest scoring duo since Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, and they have previous experience playing with each other in Oklahoma City. Harden’s career 25.2 PPG average matching with Durant’s 27.0 PPG smells like an NBA Finals berth for Brooklyn.
The Rockets Refresh Without A Toxic Environment
James Harden has officially quit on the Houston Rockets. His comments after the latest beatdown at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers are very telling, and this is not what a franchise wants out of their leader and best player. James Harden is the NBA’s greatest scorer and he has been the face of Rockets basketball for 9 years. Harden deserves a lot of credit for uplifting the Rockets franchise after the team lost their superstar duo of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming due to injuries.
But Harden hasn’t always been the leader that the Rockets have hoped for. The Beard has performed as one of the best players in the world in the regular season and even won an MVP Award, but his productivity always declines in the playoffs. He simply doesn’t possess the mental (or perhaps tangible) skills to be “that guy” to win a chip like Kawhi Leonard was for Toronto, even when playing with great players such as Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook. Being a secondary star to Kevin Durant would do him wonders and he might finally make an NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 when he was Durant’s teammate.
But as of right now, James Harden is toxic to the Rockets franchise because he simply doesn’t want to be there anymore. The Rockets found a gem in Christian Wood and have revived John Wall’s career under new head coach Stephen Silas. Harden was supposed to come in and be a leader, but instead arrived late to training camp and looks embarrassingly out of shape. Harden quitting on the court is becoming very obvious, and a swap for Kyrie Irving could solve the problem.
Kyrie Irving and John Wall play the same position, but Irving is a shooting guard at heart. He would replicate Harden’s scoring and is very capable of sharing ball-handling duties with another star as he showed in Cleveland with LeBron James. A trade that sends Irving to Houston could wake him up and force him to focus on basketball, and if that happens, the sky’s the limit for the Rockets.
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