No more excuses.
This, ultimately, will be the enduring reality behind the four teams, highly successful trade who sends disgruntled superstar James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets.
No more excuses for Harden, who was Totally unhappy to plan your departure from Houston. None for Kevin Durant. None for Kyrie Irving. None for anyone in Brooklyn.
On the surface, change is a victory for many of those involved. The Houston Rockets managed an impressive collection of four choices in the first round and legitimate rising star Victor Oladipo. Couple this with John Wall and their future will be bright, even if a little late.
Caris LeVert for Pacers is also an impressive addition to a team that is already formidable, well-trained and capable of great things.
But the main focus of this trade will fall on the Nets and Harden himself. Make no mistake: Harden’s carefree game, behind-the-scenes disrespect for his teammates and the organization and selfishness of the press conference on Tuesday gave him what he wanted. Now he has to prove that – and he – is worth all that work.
This is far from certain.
The impressive move of the Nets is undoubtedly a bet worthy of punch and celebration for Sean Marks and his main office.
It is a victory.
It’s a blow.
But it is still a bet, with huge bets, an all-the-chips-in-the-middle shove with more uncertainty than the initial shock and jubilation over a KD-Kyrie-Harden trio naturally promotes.
Chemistry is not as sexy as three superstars playing together, but it is of critical importance. Particularly with three superstars playing together.
Particularly, in the extreme, with these three superstars.
Let’s review how these super talented and dominant ball players got here and what happened during their journey to Brooklyn.
Durant, one of the most dynamic and dangerous basketball players on the planet, was so irritated by the criticism while with the Warriors he had Twitter accounts to defend his honor. He struggled with the love and flattery that Curry incurred there, and felt, by comparison, underestimated. There is nothing wrong with these realities, but it certainly raises an eyebrow or two about your ability to play with other stars.
And Irving and Harden, at least as teammates and models of basketball selflessness, are not Curry.
Irving was so unhappy under the shadow of LeBron James – the best player in the world, no less – that he forced his way out of a champion. Okay, sure, but don’t shout “winning is what matters most”.
Nor, of course, just leaving your team during the season and not having time to tell your new coach (and hall of fame).
And we have not yet reached its time in Boston. That team that had already made a Conference final without him, and the addition of Kyrie ended up being a weight rather than a victory. He brought more drama than danger to the Celtics’ dreams of taking the next step, and they are better off without him.
Changing rooms are important.
So now Irving is a Net, or at least more or less. We still don’t know what he’s doing or why he left the team, but he hasn’t shown up yet. His pre-season comments that the Nets really didn’t have a coach – damn, Steve Nash – were close to being prophetic. Replace “me” with “technical” and he is on the right track.
And in that situation comes Harden, whose usage fee would make Kobe Bryant blush. Again: okay … if it works.
But Harden’s dismal departure from Houston comes after being unable to coexist (and ultimately make an NBA final) with Chris Paul and then with his longtime friend Russell Westbrook.
So yes, talent in Brooklyn is something to see. If these three players play together in sync, willing to sacrifice, focused on the goal of team greatness before the night-by-night attraction of individual excellence, they will, to say the least, extremely difficult to contain.
There is a lot of offensive firepower. And the list behind them, even with the departure of LeVert and Jarrett Allen, is profound and impressive.
But there are also three players who have shown themselves, in different ways, sensitive not only to criticism, but to the need to work together with other stars. Durant did this with great success, of course, but if the culture of the Warriors bothers you, good luck with Kyrie and Beard.
Harden is the definitive example here, and the person on whom the most weight will fall. He went on his way, over and over, in Houston, until one day he woke up miserable with the world he built for himself. Your answer? Turn off your cell phone, arrive late and get out of shape this season, play as if it doesn’t matter and, in the end, insult your team and literally get up and go.
Perhaps that player paired with Durant and Kyrie is unstoppable. Perhaps he will be reborn, focused, altruistic, part of a Big Three that will dominate the East and pursue rings with abandon. Perhaps they are unstoppable. Or maybe, after a little time and tension together, people in Brooklyn will want everything to stop.
Either option is possible and neither is guaranteed. But whatever happens, there are no more excuses.
This is the most talented trio in the NBA – one of the most talented in NBA history – and if it doesn’t work, there will be no one to blame in Brooklyn other than three stars who got exactly what they asked for: Among themselves.