Let’s forget about basketball for a moment. The baskets can wait. What traits did the Brooklyn Nets bring along with James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant? And what do those personalities mean for your championship plans?
Based on Harden’s time in Houston, “selfish” is part of the discussion.
It is not because he forced Wednesday’s exchange to Brooklyn that Harden has every right to maximize his career. But it was how he did it: party without a mask in the pandemic while his teammates were quarantined on training ground, then played with the man from thickness and sloth Generally, he finds himself in a league of players 50 and older, and on his last day in a Houston Rockets uniform, defaming his squad as “not good enough.” Good thing Harden left for a known DeMarcus Cousins grabbed hold of him.
Meanwhile, based on the latest vibes coming from Planet Irving, “weird” is a good description of Kyrie, and “unreliable“is not out of the question.
On January 8, Irving did not travel with his teammates for a game in Memphis, Tennessee. Maybe he was protesting Donald Trump’s mutiny in the Capitol, or the prosecutors who refused to press charges against the police officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back. We can accept and support that. But then Irving missed three more games, for what the team called “ personal reasons, ” and will not return this week. What could Irving be protesting against now, something from a ‘past life’? Are eight backstrokes per game refused at the basket? Are you not allowed to coach the team? You never know with Irving’s lurid story.
That leaves Durant as the adult in the Brooklyn locker room.
He doesn’t have Irving and Harden’s baggage. Teammates love him. All he cares about is winning. Durant likely sacrificed his Achilles heel by returning prematurely in the 2019 NBA Finals; that’s not something a selfish person would do. But despite always being the best player on his team, Durant has never been the leader. He played in the shadow of Russell Westbrook’s Oklahoma City persona and then lived side by side 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 the infamous account of him social media accounts.
Talent alone does not win championships. Character is also essential. You need players who are accountable 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 he did in Brooklyn.
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Nets general manager Sean Marks says they are looking for Kyrie Irving to rejoin the team as soon as possible.
For Brooklyn’s mega-shift to live up to the hype, Durant must keep Irving away from his quirks and immaturity. You will have to convince Harden to be generous and responsible. In his thirteenth season, Durant must become a complete leader.
Wait, isn’t that the job of head coach Steve Nash? Not in today’s NBA, where star players tolerate coaches more than they follow or obey. One of Nash’s assistants is Mike D’Antoni, who, as the Rockets’ head coach, never realized (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 is on the sidelines as three of the most dominant players in history try to win together.
Character is revealed on the field. You can tell what kind of person someone is by playing basketball. Durant established his good-guy qualities in Golden State, where he went off the ball or stopped for the shot, and was happy to build up an attack if necessary. But Harden and Irving have never been happy playing that way. They have to dribble like the Kardashians need attention. Irving left LeBron James in Cleveland because he couldn’t tolerate not running the show. Harden fired future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul from Houston, and later estranged his alleged best friend Westbrook, due to his addiction to isolation basketball.
(Being late usually didn’t help.) Harden couldn’t make the situation work with just one star, now he has to split it with two?
To be fair, Harden and Irving’s character is more than just basketball. Irving is a generous and passionate advocate for social justice. Harden helped buy food for 5,000 Houston families during the pandemic. But when it comes to their profession, they seem to believe they have the right to demand. What makes it difficult for an association to function.
When Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen teamed up with Paul Pierce in Boston to create the NBA’s first modern super team, Garnett’s strong bond and sacrificial attitude led them to a title. When James and Chris Bosh teamed up with Dwyane Wade in Miami, they couldn’t win until Wade gave James the keys to offense and Bosh accepted the role of third in the group.
Who’s man enough to sit in the background in Brooklyn? Can Irving and Harden recover from all the sage and bridges they burned? Will Durant demonstrate the leadership suggested by his far-reaching capabilities?
Everything is a matter of character.