Let’s forget about basketball for a minute. Pimples can wait. What character traits did the Brooklyn Nets bring along with James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant? And what do those personalities mean to your championship plans?
Based on Harden’s time in Houston, the “selfish” is part of the discussion.
Not because he forced Wednesday’s trade in Brooklyn, Harden has every right to maximize his career. But that’s how he did it: a party without a mask in a pandemic while his colleagues were quarantined on the training ground, then they played with the type of thickness and Laziness In general, he is in a league of players over 50 years old and, on his last day, dressed in the Houston Rockets uniform, defaming his team as “not good enough”. Good thing Harden left before avowed DeMarcus Cousins grabbed him.
Meanwhile, based on the latest vibrations from Planet Irving, “strange” is a correct description of Kyrie and “Uncertain“It simply came to our notice then.
On January 8, Irving did not travel with his teammates for a game in Memphis, Tennessee. Maybe he protested against Donald Trump’s riot in the United States Chapter or prosecutors who refused to file charges against the police officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back. Well, we could accept and support this. But then Irving missed three more games, for what the team called “personal reasons” and is not expected to return this week. What could Irving protest now, something from a “past life”? Are eight back games denied the basket per game? Aren’t you allowed to coach the team? With Irving’s terrible story, you never know.
This leaves Durant as an adult in the Brooklyn dressing room.
He doesn’t have Irving and Harden’s luggage. Teammates love him. All he seems to care about is winning. Durant probably sacrificed his Achilles tendon by returning too early to the 2019 NBA Finals; this would not have been done by a selfish person. But despite always being the best player on his team, Durant was never a leader. He played in the shadow of Russell Westbrook’s character in Oklahoma City, then coexisted in a Golden State Warriors franchise led by Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. If there is any criticism of Durant, it is that he may be too sensitive, hence his infamous account. socializing accounts.
Talent alone does not win championships. Character is also essential. You need players to answer to each other, which was a problem for Harden in Houston. Players who are self-aware and can take responsibility for their mistakes without blaming their teammates, as Irving did before fleeing Boston or the media, like him in Brooklyn.
0:43
Nets general manager Sean Marks says he is looking for Kyrie Irving to join the team as soon as possible.
For Brooklyn’s mega-change to live up to the hype, Durant will have to take Irving away from his whims and immaturity. You will have to convince Harden to be generous and responsible. In the thirteenth season, Durant must become a complete leader.
Wait, isn’t it the job of head coach Steve Nash? Not in today’s NBA, where star players tolerate coaches more than following or obeying them. One of Nash’s assistants is Mike D’Antoni, who, as the Rockets’ head coach, never managed (or maybe even tried) to keep Harden at bay. As a player, Nash earned a reputation for bringing his teammates together, but he did it with the ball in his hands. Now Nash will be on the sidelines, while three of the most dominant players in history are trying to win together.
The character is revealed on the field. You can tell what kind of person someone is by the way they play basketball. Durant established his good credentials at Golden State, where he moved away from the ball or stopped for the shot and was happy to offend when needed. But Harden and Irving were never happy playing like that. They have to dribble like the Kardashians need attention. Irving left LeBron James in Cleveland because he couldn’t stand not to run the show. Harden fired future Houston Hall of Fame guard Chris Paul and later alienated his alleged best friend Westbrook because of his addiction to isolated basketball.
(The delay usually didn’t help.) Harden couldn’t make the situation work with just one star, now he should split with two?
To be fair, Harden and Irving’s character is more than just basketball. Irving is a generous and passionate advocate of social justice. Harden helped buy food for 5,000 Houston families during the pandemic. But when it comes to their profession, they seem to think it falls within their rights to claim. Which makes it difficult for any association to function.
When Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen teamed up with Paul Pierce in Boston to create the first modern NBA super team, Garnett’s fierce connection and sacrificial attitude led to a title. When James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in Miami, they could not win until Wade gave James the keys to the attack and Bosh accepted the third role in the group.
Who is man enough to sit on his back in Brooklyn? Can Irving and Harden recover from all the sages and bridges they burned? Will Durant display the leadership suggested by his far-reaching skills?
It’s all a matter of character.