The Brooklyn Nets have now officially played one game with two of their new players and James Harden’s time with the team is becoming a distant memory. Harden didn’t have the most respectable exit but Kevin Durant isn’t concerned with that.
Durant hasn’t played in a game since he sprained his MCL on Jan. 15. Over the past week, he returned to the court for individual work but isn’t expected to fully return until after the All-Star break.
KD didn’t get to play alongside Harden for his final games in Brooklyn but Durant will now get to look forward to playing against him on Mar. 10 in Philadelphia.
Although KD skipped over Harden to make him the last pick in the All-Star draft, he doesn’t feel as if his former teammate owes him any type of explanation for wanting a trade.
KD doesn't believe Harden owes him an explanation -- and said he "wasn't looking for one."
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) February 13, 2022
He also said it was "hard to gauge" just how much of an impact Kyrie's decision not to get vaccinated has had on the Nets.https://t.co/PatcAQhGXk
Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant is ready to move past James Harden.
Durant traveled with the Nets on their recent road trip for the first time since getting hurt. Before Saturday’s game against the Heat, he spoke with the media.
"“James doesn’t have to explain anything to anybody,” Durant said before the game Saturday against the Miami Heat. “He’s his own man. He makes his decisions on his career by himself. He doesn’t owe anybody an explanation, and I wasn’t looking for one."
Durant knows as well as anyone that Harden doesn’t owe him an explanation. KD caught a lot of grief (and still does) for leaving Oklahoma City in 2016 to sign with Golden State. When he decided to leave the Bay Area in 2019 for Brooklyn, Durant was also criticized for that.
KD spoke for the Nets organization and their fanbase when he said:
"“I’m just glad that we got this thing done and now we’re able to move forward and get some of this noise away, and I’m sure he would feel the same way. But from around our team and around our group, there’s noise about what may happen. So I’m glad we can push through that.”"
Durant said that he wasn’t aware that Harden was no longer happy in Brooklyn and that even if he did know that, KD doesn’t believe that he could’ve said anything to change Harden’s mind.
Regardless of Harden’s questionable actions (or the lack therof) before he was traded on Feb. 10, it’s time for the Nets to move on. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind full of reports and rumors but the goal is to now focus on getting healthy and building chemistry before the playoffs start in two months.
What’s done is done. It’s clear that Durant and Brooklyn aren’t preoccupied with Harden anymore and that’s the way that it should be.
3 reasons why the Nets won the James Harden-Ben Simmons trade
The Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia Sixers finally agreed to a James Harden-Ben Simmons deal and here are 3 reasons why Sean Marks won the trade.