Ex-Longhorn Kevin Durant Didn’t Try to Persuade James Harden to Stay; Here’s Why
After a last-minute trade sending Harden to Philadelphia prior to the trade deadline, the short-lived experimental trio of James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving ended.
When they played together, the big three dominated, playing 16 games with a 13-3 record. So what exactly went wrong?
Ultimately, several factors including consistent injuries, complications surrounding Irving’s vaccination status, and finally an 11-game losing streak, led Harden to want out.
In Durant’s eyes, there was no reason to try to convince Harden to stay. Here’s what Durant said:
Via ESPN:
“I think once a person gets to that decision of ‘I’m unhappy,’ I think he’s gone through a lot of steps to get there. So no matter what I say or try to convince someone — I’m not saying I did this, but this is just my theory on this — no matter what I say or do to try to convince someone to change their mood from being unhappy to happy, I think that’s when I’m pretty late to the party.”
Durant continued, “He’s made his decision. I’m sure people make their decision before they get to that mode of being unhappy. I didn’t have any conversations with James up until then. I thought everything was solid. I don’t do any convincing. I’m sure you make those choices and decisions on your own as an individual. Me as a friend, I just have to accept it.”
The trade package sent Harden and Paul Millsap to Philadelphia in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round draft picks.
Harden will now pair up with MVP candidate big-man Joel Embiid hoping to deliver the Philadelphia 76ers their first championship in almost 40 years.
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