"Harden would roll his eyes when an after-timeout play was designed for Durant" - Reports suggest James Harden had differences with Steve Nash and Kevin Durant regarding tactics
NBA and Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant and former Nets superstar James Harden reportedly didn't see eye to eye when plays were designed for the former rather than the latter.
According to Jake Fischer of The Bleacher Report, head coach Steve Nash scheming plays for KD rather than Harden was one of the primary reasons why The Beard was eager to leave the Brooklyn Nets. Fischer said:
"Brooklyn coaches noticed Harden would roll his eyes when an after-timeout play was designed for Durant, sources said."
Fischer continued:
"Durant and Nash wanted a free-flowing offense, which Mike D'Antoni had helped install last season, but Harden preferred his patented iso ball."
The inability to be in accord on the part of both the superstars led to James Harden leaving the Brooklyn Nets for the Philadelphia 76ers as the Nets acquired Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond in return for The Beard.
Kevin Durant and Steve Nash wanted a free-flowing offense, but James Harden preferred iso ball, per @JakeLFischer
“Brooklyn coaches noticed Harden would roll his eyes when an after-timeout play was designed for Durant, sources said.” https://t.co/kO6N6lU6a7
Why did it not work out between James Harden and Kevin Durant with the Nets?
The Brooklyn Nets pulled off the deal to acquire James Harden from the Houston Rockets and team him up with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. The NBA had their newest big three and arguably the best big three ever united in the history of the league, at least offensively.
Kyrie Irving was the reason Kevin Durant was convinced to go to the Nets instead of the New York Knicks and soon after the Nets had Harden as well. They were well and truly the heavy favorites for the championship and there seemed to be no team in the NBA capable of stopping this offensive juggernaut, not on paper at least.
Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving are the 1st trio in NBA history to score 95+ points in back-to-back playoff games h/t @EliasSports https://t.co/MNGZDnYYTl
However, their first postseason together didn't go according to plan as Kyrie was out injured and Harden was essentially playing on one leg due to hamstring issues. The Slim Reaper alone wasn't enough to defeat the eventual champions in the Milwaukee Bucks. But expectations and hopes remained high for this Nets team.
But the first cracks appeared when Kyrie was deemed ineligible to play in the home games due to the Covid-19 vaccination mandate in Brooklyn, and that appears to be when Harden started to question his future with the team. KD soon went down due to a knee injury and Harden was left all alone to man the ship.
Realizing he will be 33 years old in August this year, Harden knows that his window for winning a championship is closing fast. With uncertainty over Irving's unavailability and Kevin Durant being out injured, James Harden felt the need to jump ship and try his luck at winning a championship with the Philadelphai 76ers. And that's how what should have been the greatest big three compiled was nothing but an utter and absolute failure.