Getty LeBron James with James Harden.
The Brooklyn Nets have suddenly made this NBA season a lot more interesting with their blockbuster trade to acquire eight-time All-Star James Harden. The Nets were supposed to be title contenders but have gotten off to a disappointing 7-6 start. In the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers are 10-4 and have to be feeling good about their title chances.
However, the Nets now have the best trio of players in the NBA with Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Whether or not the team chemistry works remains to be seen but there’s no denying that it is an impressive collection of talent. If the three men can figure out how to leave their egos at the door and solely focus on what’s best for the team, they’re going to be hard to beat.
Though LeBron James hasn’t offered much of a reaction to the news, he did take note of a parody video circulating that pokes some fun at the superstar.
IM 36!!!!! IM 36!!!! STOP THROWING THE BALL 😡😡😡🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣💀
While LeBron probably wasn’t excited about the news, he’s still got to feel confident in his Lakers team. It might be the best team that he’s been on yet and the Nets don’t have anybody on their roster who can slow down Anthony Davis or LeBron.
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LeBron Stays Mum on Trade News
The often outspoken LeBron did have a chance to give a reaction to the Harden trade to the media after Wednesday’s 128-99 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, but he decided to keep the focus on his team.
“Don’t really have too much of a reaction. … Trades happened [Wednesday] and I couldn’t allow myself to indulge in that knowing that we had a game that we had to play tonight,” LeBron said.
Perhaps when the dust settles, LeBron will offer more thoughts on the trade but he’s only got the Lakers on his mind right now.
No Guarantee Nets Trio Will Work Out
With the Harden trade, the Nets were able to deflect some attention off the volatile Irving situation that appears to be brewing. A recent video circulated showing the guard at a party not wearing a mask. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews, the NBA is investigating Irving for the incident.
Sources with @Malika_Andrews: As the NBA is expected to begin examining online videos circulating of a maskless Kyrie Irving at a family birthday party, there’s no belief that he will return to the Brooklyn Nets lineup this week.
Based on the video, it’s possible that Irving will have to quarantine for some time. While that’s a bad enough look on its own, the Nets are having trouble creating consistent communication with the star guard. They have yet to fix this situation and now they’re adding Harden to the fold, who caused issues in Houston before he was traded.
It’s always possible that talent wins out in the end but the Nets have created a potentially disastrous situation for themselves. Durant isn’t going to cause any trouble and he’ll always play at a high level. The problem is going to be figuring out how Steve Nash, who has no coaching experience prior to this season, is going to control a team with so many big personalities.
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