'I Don't Look Like The Crazy One,' Says James Harden About Leaving Brooklyn Last Season

James Harden asking for a trade from the Brooklyn Nets ahead of last season's NBA trade deadline had fans calling him crazy for wanting to break up the big three of him, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but now his decision appears justified.

Reflecting on his time in Brooklyn, Harden had the following to say following their win over the Nets.

"It was a lot of dysfunction. Clearly. But it was a lot of internal things that I'm not going to ever just say, put in the media or anything. And that was one of the reasons why I chose to make my decision. But now, fast forward to today, I don't look like the crazy one," he initially stated.

Harden made his way to the Nets as part of a four-team deal that involved the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers and many were heralding the birth of a new dynasty even before he had stepped on the floor as he was joining up with Irving and Durant.

However, injuries and controversies would derail their hopes of a deep playoff run as they only made it to the Eastern Conference Finals once which they lost in seven games after a doozy of a series against the Milwaukee Bucks and were swept in the first round last season by the Boston Celtics.

Harden, along with Paul Millsap, was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two-first round selections on February 10, 2022.

At the time of the deal, many labeled "The Beard" a quitter for leaving the Nets just when they were finding their stride last season and Harden was completely aware of the fallout from his decision.

"I don't look like the guy or the quitter or whatever the media want to call me. I knew what was going on and I just decided to... Hey, I'm not built for this. I don't want to deal with that. I want to play basketball and have fun and enjoy doing it," Harden later added.

The Nets decided to blow the whole experiment to smithereens as they dealt both Irving and Durant to the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns respectively–the latter being a blockbuster trade of epic proportions that shocked the league.

Few would ever think that the Nets would ever call it quits on their two prized acquisitions in the 2019 offseason, but they did and now the Nets are in a full-blown rebuild.

Now with the Sixers, Harden and Joel Embiid are poised to lead the franchise in the playoffs with the hopes of finally making it to the NBA Finals this time around.