Home NBA James Harden Ruined Whatever Remained of His Legacy With Passive-Aggressive ‘Trade Requests’

James Harden Ruined Whatever Remained of His Legacy With Passive-Aggressive ‘Trade Requests’

February 11, 2022

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On Friday night, James Harden took to Twitter and posted a series of cryptic tweets seemingly requesting teams trade for him. It’s hard not to read this tweet as an attempt by the Rockets star to manufacture power in his situation without actually doing anything or speaking up himself.

The “James Harden Ruined Whatever Remained of His Legacy With Passive-Aggressive ‘Trade Requests’” is a blog post about James Harden’s decision to put out trade requests. It argues that the move was passive-aggressive and ruined whatever remained of his legacy. Read more in detail here: what team is james harden on 2022.

When James Harden gets inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, his achievements, trophies, and other distinctions will be on display. It will be a formidable list. He’ll almost certainly be mentioned as one of just two players to win both the Sixth Man of the Year and MVP accolades.

Because that’s how museums deal with brilliant but imperfect actors. It’s why one sport refuses to recognize some of its finest players because it can’t do so without mentioning the performance-enhancing drug haze that surrounds them. So there won’t be anything on Harden’s exhibit in Springfield about how, as a maximum-contract player, he left two clubs in 13 months.

But make no mistake about it: Whether or if Harden’s current maneuvers result in him obtaining that elusive NBA championship ring, it will be his legacy.

James Harden was adamant about not telling the truth.

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It was one of the oddest pieces of NBA breaking news I’d ever seen. On the morning of the NBA trade deadline, Feb. 10, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski claimed that James Harden wants to be traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.

He lacked the courage to approach Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks and beg for it. It was instead released to the media.

The Beard seemed to want to leave Brooklyn. But he was afraid of a response from supporters if he asked for another move. Harden informed the Houston Rockets of his desire to leave in 2020. He missed training camp and part of the preseason before sleeping through the first eight games of the season.

His request was not vocal this time. But, gosh, was that a piece of the most pure performance art you’ll ever see?

Harden put on a show with the Nets that was straight out of the pages of current social media while battling with what the club claimed was stiffness in his left hamstring.

Harden shot 8-of-30 in his last two games as a Net in answer to the “tell us you want a trade without telling us you want a trade” challenge. Yes, he had 22 assists, but he also had 10 turnovers. The Beard seemed to be moving at half-speed in his four-point, 37-minute drubbing in an 11-point defeat in Sacramento on Feb. 2.

With a hamstring injury that was all but certain to be magically healed for the following Philadelphia 76ers game, he was in street clothes for his last three games on the roster.

James Harden is certainly talented, but he can be difficult to please.

James Harden sought a trade when he wanted to leave the Houston Rockets. With the Brooklyn Nets, he couldn’t even manage that much bravery. | Getty Images/Michelle Farsi

Daryl Morey, then the general manager of the Houston Rockets, gambled on a huge transaction in 2012. The Oklahoma City Thunder, who had already inked big-money deals with rising talents Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, felt they couldn’t afford to retain James Harden.

Morey jumped in, sending youngster Jeremy Lamb and veteran Kevin Martin to OKC along with three draft selections, two of which were first-rounders, in exchange for Harden and a trio of players who never wore a Rockets jersey or were traded soon after.

Morey’s attempts to acquire players to pair with Harden, on the other hand, never quite worked out. Dwight Howard appeared and then vanished. Later on, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook followed in his footsteps. Before Harden went for Brooklyn, John Wall came.

Nothing ever seemed to be quite enough.

Harden reunited with Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn. The fabled Big Three turned out to be one of the best “what if” teams in NBA history. The three only played ten regular-season games and six playoff games together, going 13–3 in those games.

In MVP favorite Joel Embiid, the 2017–18 NBA MVP gets a new star to play alongside. This summer, he’ll almost certainly earn a four-year, $222.8 million agreement that would pay him about $62 million when he’s 37.

Morey was the man behind the trade that brought Harden to Philadelphia. Perhaps it will work out this time. History bears this out.

The Brooklyn Nets took a chance on a super squad and came up short.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s j Oq5kpxg

The Nets paid a high price for 89 games and a playoff defeat in the second round. It’s disheartening to compare the beginning and finish of James Harden’s time in Brooklyn.

The Nets gave up the following over their 392 days with the 10-time All-Star:

Allen, Jarrett
Caris LeVert is a model and actress.
Prince Taurean
Kurucs Rodions
Millsap, Paul
2022, 2024, and 2026 first-round choices
First-round pick exchanges in 2023, 2025, and 2027 (the Rockets did not take advantage of the 2021 trade).

In exchange, Brooklyn received the following:

Simmons, Ben
Curry, Seth
Andre Drummond is a basketball player from the United States.
Philadelphia will be the first city in the United States to host the Olympics in 2022.
Cleveland’s second-place finish in 2024
The 76ers’ 2027 first-round pick was protected by a top-8 pick.

Just hours after selling Harden and Millsap, the Nets dropped their tenth consecutive game. In the Eastern Conference, they’re eighth, 6.5 games behind the Miami Heat, 2.5 games behind the sixth-place Toronto Raptors, and just 3.5 games clear of the 11th-place Washington Wizards in the play-in race.

The NBA championship favorites are 29–26 in the preseason. Only nine of Brooklyn’s last 27 games are open to Irving. After not playing since June, Simmons will need some time to get back into game form.

The Nets are in turmoil, but Durant is expected to return from a knee ailment shortly. The Rockets are in the midst of a major rebuilding project. James Harden would be the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters if he were a movie character. Despite this, teams continue to choose him as their destructor.

Basketball Reference provided the statistics. Spotrac provided contract details.

If the Nets’ gamble doesn’t pay off, Kevin Durant will be the biggest loser in the James Harden trade.

The “James Harden ruined whatever remained of his legacy with passive-aggressive ‘trade requests’” is a term that has been used to describe an act where one person is aggressive, but the other person is not. Reference: define passive aggressive.