ESPN reports that Kevin Durant had some resentment towards James Harden because he was out of shape and not doing anything about it. Side Action claims that “Durant was not happy with Harden who showed up to training camp out of shape. Durant excused it when Harden was in Houston because he was clearly unhappy.”
Durant figured Harden would at least show some effort once he arrived in Brooklyn. But as we now know that didn’t happen.
“Sources say that much of the discontent between Harden and the Nets started in September when he arrived into training camp out of shape. Durant had been understanding of Harden’s predicament in Houston as a man in need of new scenery with the Nets, but also tacitly expected his former teammate to commit himself to conditioning and self-care when he came seeking a title in Brooklyn, according to a source close to both stars.
With Irving’s status already in flux due to his unwillingness to get vaccinated, Durant was astonished in the opening weeks of the season at Harden’s lack of explosiveness and sluggish play, something he attributed in large part to Harden’s being out of shape, as he did the ensuing hamstring issues.”
The Nets have gelled a lot better since Harden left, and are probably better off without him heading into the playoffs. The Nets have an opportunity to make a run without James Harden. If they go further than the Sixers then everyone will feel a lot better with parting ways.
Harden has always taken his time getting into game shape. He spends his offseasons with Lil Baby and the strippers not in the gym. This shouldn’t have come as a surprise to KD, but it doesn’t matter now because they traded him to the Sixers for Ben Simmons who has yet to start playing for the team.
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