By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
James Harden talked to ESPN’s Rachel Nichols about his recent Houston Rockets exit comparing his previous team to the Brooklyn Nets. He pushed for a trade and got his wish via a four-team deal completed on January 14.
“The situation I was in Houston, to consistently get 40 points every night to give us a chance to win for a long period of years is draining,” he recalled and went on to his current team, “Just being able to be the playmaker and get guys involved and not have to necessarily worry about scoring in each possession is relieving.”
Harden, 31, has been averaging 23.3 points, 11.3 assists, 8.2 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game in 13 appearances since joining the Nets following an eight-year run with the Rockets.
“I don’t like it at all, because that’s not who I am,” he said regarding his departure from the Houston organization, “The drama, the extra, whatever you want to call it, the negativity, I don’t really like negative energy, it’s draining. I don’t like how it necessarily happened. I feel like it could have happened a lot smoother, a lot easier, but it is what it is.”
“I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful, I wasn’t trying to be selfish. I feel like the front office knew where I stood and what I wanted,” he added, “I apologize for how it went down, but I guess I had to do what I had to do in order to get to where I wanted to go.”
Moving on, he thanked the Rockets for eventually dealing him to the Nets to rejoin Kevin Durant.
“Credit to Houston. They didn’t necessarily have to trade me to Brooklyn. They could’ve traded me anywhere, but those are some stand-up guys over there,” he pointed out, “It ended up the right way. I just didn’t like how that month or two played out.”
Meanwhile, Durant was cleared to return versus the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. He was out the last week after entering the health and safety protocols. However, DeAndre Jordan was ruled out for the start of a five-game road trip due to personal reasons.