The Brooklyn Nets' Big 3 seems like nothing but a distant memory right now. The James Harden + Kevin Durant + Kyrie Irving experiment seemed like a beauty on paper but some were concerned about their characters.
The Nets were 13-3 in the 16 games they played together, but Harden's frustration with the organization rapidly grew when Durant fell with an injury and he was asked to shoulder a heavy load.
Durant Told The Nets To Pull The Trigger
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, Harden started freelancing way too much, up to the point where Durant and others didn't think he was hurt when he claimed to be injured.
In the end, Durant had no choice but to agree with the Nets' need to make a trade now before risking losing Harden in free agency:
"Kevin's the one that pulled the trigger with this," another source with knowledge of the situation said. "Kevin's the one that said, 'Do this deal.' There was growing concern that this entire season would be lost and then they'd lose James for nothing."Harden Wasn't Pleased With Steve Nash's Free-Flowing Offense
Moreover, Harden reportedly didn't want to make an adjustment and play in a free-flowing offense. He gathered stayed in an iso-heavy offense like in his days in Houston and was frustrated about not being the team's go-to guy:
"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 report added. "Brooklyn coaches noticed Harden would roll his eyes when an after-timeout play was designed for Durant, sources said."Harden Wanted Kyrie To Be Held Accountable
Moreover, Kyrie Irving's status as a part-time player and how the Nets allowed him to get away with everything often frustrated Harden and made him question his future with the organization:
"Kyrie not being held accountable and Kyrie being allowed to do whatever he wants. James, being his age, knows he doesn't have any time to waste to get his first championship," one source close to Harden told B/R."Durant Says Harden Doesn't Owe Him An Explanation
But even despite the reports, Durant claims there are no hard feelings between the two. Moreover, he doesn't feel like Harden owed him or anybody else an explanation:
“James doesn’t have to explain anything to anybody, he’s his own man," Durant said, as quoted by Bolavip. "He makes his decisions on his career by himself, he doesn’t owe anybody any explanation and I wasn’t looking for one. I’m just glad we got this thing done. Now we’re able to move forward and get away from this noise of what may happen, so I’m glad we could push through that. James doesn’t owe anybody an explanation, this is his life.”Both teams will square off on March 10 and it will be pretty interesting.
]]>The Inquisitr
