James Harden forced his way out of his second team in 14 months, so there was always going to be blowback.
The newest addition to the 76ers roster missed his final four games with the Nets due to a hamstring injury amid an 11-game losing streak for Brooklyn, and the first two since joining the 76ers.
But vision of Harden at the Sixers’ facility practising his trademark step back jumper was enough for NBA Hall-of-Famer Tracy McGrady to address the elephant in the room.
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He accused Harden of taking himself out of the Brooklyn line-up when things went south after Kevin Durant’s injury, which led to the Nets to fall from first in the Eastern Conference to eighth.
“We all know Philly was his first choice [last season] before he went to Brooklyn, so when things hit the fan he wanted out of there. He shut it down,” McGrady said on the NBA on TNT.
“He wasn’t hurt. He wasn’t hurt. He shut it down. Y’all think he’s hurt right now?”
“You don’t rehab a hammy by doing stepbacks.”
Harden, who is making around $64 million (AUD) this year, said he will opt into his player option of $46.8 million next year to remain with the 76ers. He said he was disappointed things didn’t work out in Brooklyn, where there were high expectations after he joined stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in a trade last season.
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But injuries and Irving’s vaccination status led the so-called Big Three to play just 16 games together.
“Me and (Irving) are really good friends,” Harden said. “That’s (vaccination status is) his personal preference. But it definitely did impact the team because originally me, Kyrie and KD on the court and winning covers up a lot of that stuff, but it was unfortunate that we played 16 games out of whatever it was. It is what it is, but being here in Philly is an opportunity that I’m looking forward to.”
He said his initial preference was to be traded from Houston to the 76ers but ended up at Brooklyn, despite ESPN reports claiming he always wanted to join Durant and Irving at the Nets. The MVP also claimed he wanted to go to Philadelphia because they wanted to win.
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“For the most part, we can control our own destiny. For me, knowing Daryl (Morey), knowing Doc (Rivers), it made sense man. It’s a time when I needed to be around guys that I know want to win and are willing to do whatever it takes to win. The structure here is unbelievable.”
That also set off McGrady.
“When you say you wanna play with guys that wanna win, what are you insinuating?” McGrady asked. “That the guys in Brooklyn didn’t wanna win? Is that what we talkin’ about?”
Harden’s scoring average this season of 22.5 points is down slightly from his career average of 25.0. He’ll pair with MVP front-runner Joel Embiid, who is leading the NBA in scoring at 29.5 points per game.
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