On Thursday night, NBA legend turned analyst Charles Barkley ripped both James Harden and Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets calling the players selfish.
During a segment on NBA on TNT, the topic of the Nets new big three came up. Harden, the 2018 NBA MVP, just joined Brooklyn’s two All-Stars in Irving and Kevin Durant. The Houston Rockets traded their longtime talisman to the Nets in a multi-team trade that shocked the league on Wednesday.
The new trio will have immediate championship expectations. Yet, many fans and sports pundits aren’t convinced that the three players will mesh. Add Barkley to the growing list of people who don’t think the three players can coexist.
Barkley thinks that Durant is the only non-selfish player of the trio. As Sir Charles puts it, KD is the only player that’s proven he’s not a “me guy.”
“You got one guy, KD, he’s unselfish. The other two guys proved to me they only care about their numbers. And I don’t think they’re going to make the sacrifice. They’re going to get less shots. Are those two guys gonna say ‘you know what, I’m just gonna play hard and play defense and not worry about my individual numbers.’ And to me, that’s a hell nah,” Barkley said of Harden and Irving.
The Chuckster didn’t stop there though. He acknowledged it’s just his own personal opinion, but he thinks the Nets are already sick of Irving’s antics.
“This is just me thinking. I think (Brooklyn) is sick of Kyrie already,” he explained. “So they said we better make this James Harden trade because we can’t count on Kyrie. That’s just me talking.”
James Harden Traded to Brooklyn Nets
Many of the issues surrounding James Harden and the Rockets date back to the off-season. The shooting guard showed up late to training camp, and when he did, he was visibly out of shape.
Additionally, he was seen partying in public while maskless in both Atlanta and Las Vegas, instead of reporting to camp. The Rockets had a lot of personnel changes in the offseason, so it was important for Harden to practice with his teammates. Instead, he missed the majority of the preseason, which fueled the discontent between the player and the organization.
Houston has one of the worst records in the league early on this season. Through the first nine games the Rockets are 3-6, making them the second-worst team in the Western Conference.
After the Rockets’ blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Harden made some interesting statements to the media on Tuesday night.
“We’re just not good enough … I love this city. I literally have done everything that I can,” Harden said in his postgame interview. “This situation is crazy. It’s something that I don’t think can be fixed.”
Following Harden’s comments, the team told the player not to come to practice Wednesday morning. By that afternoon, reports circulated that Houston had finalized a multi-team trade to send Harden to the Brooklyn Nets. Harden’s relationship with the franchise after eight seasons deteriorated to the point of no return. Add Harden and his impressive tenure in Houston to the long list of what-ifs in NBA history.
