After Harden was traded to the Nets to the 76ers, a big reason for the public bombardment was that he did not stick to the path he took. Last season, when Harden was traded to the Nets by the Rockets, he was thought to have gone where he wanted to go the most. The Nets have giants Durant and Irving, and Harden can rush to the championship immediately after joining. In particular, Durant was the big brother of the Harden Thunder era, and the two had a very strong personal relationship, and the problem of integration was not big. In the eyes of many people, the path they choose, kneeling must be completed, even if the status quo is not good, they can not be deserters.
But at the press conference to join the 76ers, Harden said that last year's first choice was the 76ers. Because the choice was in the hands of the Rockets, he went to the Nets. This is true, the 76ers really have the advantage of attracting Harden. The 76ers management helmsman was Harden's old acquaintance when he was with the Rockets, who brought Harden from the Thunder to the Rockets and trained him to become a superstar. The 76ers also have super giant Embiid, a top big man who can attack and defend, Harden admires him, and when he was in the Rockets, he wanted the team to get him.
However, the Rockets also have reasons to disobey Harden's wishes. The Nets are far more generous than the 76ers and are in the interest of the Rockets. In addition, when the 76ers management helmsman left the Rockets, he had turned his face to the boss, who was reluctant to let him get Harden.
The Nets are also a good place for Harden, after all, Durant also has a championship. But Harden is somewhat reluctant, which also lays hidden dangers for today's departure. Of course, if the Nets develop smoothly, this ending can also be changed. If the Nets can win a championship last season, Harden will not leave even if the Nets are in a bad situation this season. But because of injuries, the Nets folded the Eastern Conference Finals. This season, because Irving refused to get vaccinated, Durant was plagued by injuries, and the Nets had a bad record, and there was no hope of winning the championship. After successive failures, Harden's reluctance was amplified, and he finally had the will to go.
The road starts wrong and turns out to be wrong, which is not uncommon in the NBA. In 2012, Howard was traded to the Lakers by the Magic, which was a promising deal at the time. Howard is known as the first center, Kobe Bryant is recognized as the first guard, and they are considered the second OK combination. In 1996, O'Neal was traded to the Lakers by the Magic, teamed up with Kobe Bryant, won three consecutive championships, and achieved great success. Almost the same experience, the combination of Howard and Kobe Bryant is also believed to be able to build a dynasty again.
But Howard left after only one season with the Lakers, and the results were only the first round of the playoffs. The reason for leaving is because Howard didn't want to go to the Lakers in the first place. "When I left magic, I didn't want to go to the Lakers, and I felt like people were going to feel like I was following in someone else's footsteps. Magic knew what I was thinking, but still sent me to the Lakers," Howard said years later.
To make matters worse, after going to the Lakers, Howard also clashed with Kobe's ideas and had a deep contradiction. Howard became more and more unhappy, unable to integrate into the team, failed to play the top interior level in the Lakers, the team's record was not satisfactory, and leaving became an inevitable thing. It is worth mentioning that even if he joined the Rockets, Howard's feud with Kobe Bryant was not resolved, and there was a conflict at one time.
However, after saying goodbye to the Lakers, Howard was not hopeful. Teamed up with Harden on the Rockets, but Howard still did not reach the Finals, and the results were not as good as the Magic. After leaving the Rockets, Howard was reduced to a homeless man. It wasn't until the 2019-20 season, after rejoining the Lakers, that Howard won the championship as a role player.
From Howard's experience, it is not difficult to see that joining the 76ers now, for Harden, the road is not easy. If the 76ers can't win the championship, Harden's reputation will fall to the bottom and he will most likely become a tramp.