James Harden’s time in Brooklyn was temporary however the impression he had on his teammates was immense so when he left, issues bought darkish.
Former Nets participant Bruce Brown defined how there was way more of a enjoyable vibe off the court docket when Harden was round. And no, that didn’t imply going to strip golf equipment – that was clarified.
“I think locker room-wise, it was cool, but we really didn’t do much together off the court,” Brown stated. “But when James was there, clearly, it was extra enjoyable. He did an entire lot of occasions for us.
“When he left, the locker room was kind of quiet. Nobody really did much together. … James was a great teammate on and off the court. Definitely was one of the best teammates I’ve ever had.”
Harden’ hasty exit was a bit of a shock at the time as a result of it was anticipated he, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving would turn into a formidable huge three. But the trio solely performed a complete of 16 video games collectively.
The now 14-season veteran was in Brooklyn for a little bit over a 12 months however his exit was the catalyst for an extended record of points the group would start to face.
Brown says his commerce had a huge impact on the group off the court docket, in addition to on the court docket.
“When he left [the team get-togethers off the court] kinda lacked,” Brown stated. “There was only a few people hanging out with each other on the team. And then on the court, it was kinda tough. Our offense was basically just straight [Kevin Durant] and [Kyrie Irving] isos. Teams just loaded, as you’ve seen against the Celtics in [the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs].”
Irving and Durant each sensationally requested trades out of Brooklyn this season and by February’s deadline, they have been each gone and the group was in disrepair.
They began the season on a dropping streak too, which led to Steve Nash getting fired.
In February when he returned to play at Barclays Center for the first time, Harden appeared completely satisfied together with his decisions.
“But now, fast-forward to date, I don’t look like the crazy one,” Harden said. “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.”
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