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Marcio Jose Sanchez/Related Press
James Harden apparently wasn’t afraid to wield his affect throughout his time with the Houston Rockets.
Forbes‘ Mike Mazzeo spoke to a supply who contrasted how Harden operated in Houston with how his transient tenure with the Brooklyn Nets has unfolded:
“In Houston, James would complain about the whole lot to the crew CEO (Tad Brown). He is gotten high-level guys traded. The Rockets gave him an excessive amount of management. However in Brooklyn, he isn’t making it about himself. He is been very humble and gracious, making performs for others. And he is performed an outstanding job protecting himself in verify.”
The small print do not come as a lot of a shock as a result of that has turn out to be the broader narrative round Harden’s eight-plus seasons with the Rockets.
The nine-time All-Star did not mesh with Dwight Howard, who opted out of his contract with Houston in 2016.
Chris Paul arrived a yr later. The Rockets had been one win away from the NBA Finals within the 2018 playoffs and usually had an excellent factor going with the Harden-Paul partnership. However their relationship soured in 2019, which led the crew to commerce Paul to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder for Russell Westbrook.
The thought was that Harden and Westbrook’s friendship would stave off what the Rockets skilled with Paul on the roster. As a substitute, it took only one season for issues to fall apart.
A number of reports shared a peek behind the scenes to clarify the facility dynamic between Harden and the Rockets.
“We knew who the boss of the group was,” a former Rockets assistant coach stated to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “That is simply a part of what the deal was if you go to Houston. The gamers, coaches, GM, proprietor all know.
“I do not blame James. I blame the group. It is not his fault. He did what they allowed him to do.”
The Nets had a wholly completely different construction in place when Harden arrived after Brooklyn had constructed its future round Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Maybe the 2017-18 MVP would supersede Irving, however Durant will possible at all times be the man on the prime of the meals chain.
Harden has settled completely into the position to this point. He is averaging 25.5 factors, 11.4 assists and eight.7 rebounds by 23 video games with Brooklyn.
In consequence, the Nets are the favorites on FanDuel to win the Japanese Convention (+130) and second favorites (+300) behind the Los Angeles Lakers (+280) within the NBA championship race.
Whereas Steve Nash’s squad seems robust proper now, the Los Angeles Clippers’ collapse final yr is a robust reminder the playoffs would be the true check of a contender’s title credentials, although.
Have to be 21+ and current in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, West Virginia, Colorado, or Tennessee. Playing Drawback? Name 1-800-GAMBLER. See sportsbook.fanduel.com for particulars.
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