James Harden made it very clear that he wanted to be traded to the Los Angeles Clippers as per The Athletic’s Shams Charania. After a couple of games into the new season, his wish was fulfilled. The 10-time NBA All-Star was traded to the Clippers in exchange for Nic Batum, Marcus Morris, RJ Covington, KJ Martin and several other picks.
But Harden has not had the best start to life at the Clippers as they lost both matches since his arrival. In the two games that he played, he averaged 14.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists. His numbers may be good but he isn’t a great overall fit with this Clippers team.
A lot depends on the coach to decide how to tweak this team which includes four superstars like Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. It will be a season for the Clippers to figure out what works best for them.
Recently former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins appeared on ESPN’s “First Take” to blast Harden while also addressing the complicated situation at the Clippers. He feels pity for Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, who has some tough choices to make as the season progresses.
“James Harden lied through that whole interview,” Perkins said. “Talking about all he does is care about winning. When I look at this Clippers team, I feel so bad for my brother T Lue. I said a prayer for T Lue, because of what he is about to go through with this situation. This is about to be a stressful season for him.
Perkins is not impressed with Harden’s interview where he shared how he wants to move out of Philadelphia. Although the superstar also mentioned his affinity towards winning the NBA Championship, Perkins didn’t buy that aspect in his interview.
The former Celtics man who won the NBA title in 2008 is not concerned for their coach Lue who has some crucial decisions to make. He has to appoint definite roles to the players to make the entire roster work seamlessly. Also, it will be difficult to work with so many big egos in the dressing room.
Earlier, when the Clippers lost to the Brooklyn Nets 100-93, Harden took the blame on himself being a leader of the team. “Tonight was on me as far as letting the ball get away,” Harden said. “Think it’s really the fourth quarter … tonight, I turned the ball over, they get easy points.”
