Why hasn’t Harden received more credit for taking a Sixers friendly deal?

Sixers’ Harden not getting enough credit for taking a pay cut: Quitting on other teams

Reason number one was his reputation of seemingly quitting on teams. It’s been a turbulent two years for Harden as he’s been on three teams in three seasons. As highly publicized, Harden strategically forced his way out of Houston and Brooklyn.

In Houston, Harden was the reigning king of the franchise. His tenure was simply put as, “Whatever James wants”. The descriptive demands and control Harden had over the team were LeBron-like. Basically testing the Rockets by trying to force a trade if the team did not build a contender around him.

The way Harden got his way out was an ultimate chink in his selfish armor. Harden showed up to training camp late and basically dogged it until he was traded. In one game’s warmup, the famous “fat” Harden picture was captured and seemed like a clear tactic of getting out of Houston.

As the story goes, Harden re-rerouted himself and his career to be a part of the Brooklyn Nets. Forming the best trio that barely was in Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. That tremendous trio never really came to fruition due to hamstrings and vaccine mandates.

Shortly after being on the Nets for a calendar year, Harden grew frustrated with the Nets in general and wanted to ask out in the most indirect way to help repair the reputation that followed him from Houston. That clearly didn’t help because no matter the situation, it still looks a certain type of way that yet again James Harden requested to be traded.