Ben Simmons' deal with Harden is now closed, with the two eventually swapping owners before the trade deadline. There's no doubt that brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers fans are ready for it all.
From previous reports, it was clear that Harden wanted to leave the Nets. Perhaps the lack of relations with Irving is the main reason for this. The Athletic's Joe Wadden recently revealed that James Harden and Kyrie Irving had some problems with each other during their time as teammates.
According to sources who were present at the time, Harden sat in front of his locker, looking at Owen and looking at Carey like he had three heads. There is definitely a strange atmosphere between them," one source said. "You can tell Harden is angry, and Owen doesn't feel harden angry."
Over the past two seasons, Harden has left both teams and has been traded mid-season. When he tried to explain this, my guess was that he wouldn't stand up and say definitively that he wanted to stay as far away from Irving as possible. But don't get me wrong, Irving did have something to do with his departure.
Harden has publicly said he's frustrated that the Nets aren't playing better. He always knew how much the Nets needed Irving on the court and anticipated how crazy it would be to play the home playoffs without Irving. Harden is the only player on the Nets who opposes Irving's "part-time play."
There is no doubt that sometimes friction in the dressing room leads to the failure of super teams. It seems like this has happened at the Nets. That being said, the Nets are still in a favorable competitive position as they end up winning 3-time All-Star guard Ben Simmons. According to Skip Bayless, Harden's body is always problematic, one will be a hamstring injury, and the other will be a hand injury. His breakthroughs are not as sharp as before, he used to play very silky, can do a lot of movements in the air, and now rarely sees. With Ben Simmons for Harden, the Nets will be stronger and more threatening in the playoffs.