Keyshawn Johnson says he’ll feel bad for Kyrie Irving if James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers win the NBA title: “People are going to say you are the reason why”
NBA and Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving is being blamed by former teammate James Harden for absconding from the Nets for the Philadelphia 76ers.
On ESPN's morning radio show Keyshawn, JWill and Max, former NFL star Keyshawn Johnson has placed the blame on Kyrie Irving if the Nets do not win a championship this season, as Harden did with Philly. Keyshawn said:
"If for whatever reason, the Brooklyn Nets don't win a championship and James Harden happens to win a championship in Philly, I'd feel bad for Kyrie, I really would, because people are going to say you are the reason why."
There has been an air of uncertainty around Irving this season as he isn't eligible for the home games due to the Covid-19 vaccination mandate in the borough of Brooklyn, and this could have been one of the driving reasons why Harden left town and demanded a trade to the 76ers.
However, the Nets have done their level best in organizing this trade as they received Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond in return for James Harden and Paul Millsap.
Why did it not work out between Harden and Kyrie Irving 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, Kyrie Irving & James Harden combined to score 104 points in their Sunday matchup with the Celtics. That is tied for the most by a trio in a playoff game in NBA history h/t @EliasSports https://t.co/REiB0Yezs4
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 remain 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.
Over the last 10 seasons, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and James Harden rank in the top-four in usage rate in clutch time (min. 500 minutes).
Clutch time is the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter or overtime, with the score within 5 points https://t.co/81YULvfYoC
Realizing that 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.