James Harden Opens Up About Time With Nets and Kevin Durant Trade Request: 'Am I Still the Quitter?'

James Harden had some insight about the Brooklyn Nets’ lack of structure, which was one of the reasons why he requested a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers before the deadline.

In a full-length feature story from Yaron Weitzman of Fox Sports, Harden was asked to describe his time in Brooklyn. He said he wasn’t able to get healthy because he was dealing with a hamstring injury.

He then expressed his feelings about the Nets and the need for structure.

“I don’t mean to, like, just down talk to anybody or whatever. It was just, there was no structure and even superstars, they need structure. That’s what allows us to be the best players and leaders for our respective organizations,” he said.

The timeframe for this comment makes sense, given the headlines about the Nets firing head coach Steve Nash and Durant asking to be traded after just four months.

“I just feel like,” Harden continued, “internally, things weren’t what I expected when I was trying to get traded there. I think everybody knows that. And I knew people were going to talk and say, ‘You quit’ and all that stuff, but then the following summer, the other superstar there [Durant] wanted to leave. So it’s like: Am I still the quitter?”

Durant and Harden were known to butt heads during the season. Kyrie Irving was also very against getting vaccinated that resulted in him missing home games. Although the Big 3 was created in Brooklyn, it sounds like it wasn’t going to last very long.

Harden is coming off a big double-double Tuesday (Dec. 13), where he had 21 points, seven rebounds, 15 assists, and five steals across 36 minutes during a 123-103 win over the Kings.