Safe to say former NBA Champion and long-time Boston Celtics player Antoine Walker was not a fan of the Brooklyn Nets’ decision to acquire James Harden back in mid-January.
“I’m not a James Harden guy, and it’s not personal but you can’t win with that style,” Walker emphatically stated during an appearance on the “All Things Covered” podcast with Patrick Peterson and Bryant McFadden.
While the long-term fallout of the Harden deal remains unknown, the early returns of the deal have been excellent for Brooklyn. The Nets are 18-6 with Harden in the lineup this season, including a 121-109 beatdown of Walker’s former team, the Celtics, on Thursday night.
Harden fired back at Walker’s critique with some shade of his own during a media session at NBA All-Star weekend in Atlanta.
“Stuff like that I don’t pay attention to, especially somebody that has no credibility,” Harden claimed, via USA Today Sports’ Michael Scotto – a statement that didn’t sit so well with former Celtics champion Kendrick Perkins.
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Kendrick Perkins Responds to James Harden
While Perkins may not agree with Walker’s assessment of Harden, the ESPN analyst is clearly not a fan of Harden’s handling of the situation – urging the former league M.V.P to stop being so damn sensitive.
“I don’t agree with Antoine Walker with his statement as far as him watching the game of basketball,” Perkins said on ESPN’s First Take. “I’m not questioning his knowledge. But if you’ve been watching James Harden, he’s been the best player on the damn planet. But look, I will say this. Players have to stop being so damn sensitive. This man get paid to do a job. He was asked to opinion. He gave his opinion. Whether we agree with it or not, it’s his opinion.”
Perk Goes to Bat for Walker
Beyond Perkins’ judgment of Harden’s sensitivity, the former NBA big man is perplexed as to why Walker wouldn’t hold credibility in the basketball world.
“Last time I checked Antoine Walker is credible,” Perkins exclaimed. “He do has credibility. When you look at him from McDonalds All-American in high school, from winning the championship at Kentucky, from winning a championship with the Heat, three-time All-Star. By the way, Antoine Walker was that guy. He had his own signature sure with Adidas. When you look at Antoine Walker on the cover of NBA Live in 1999. So Antoine Walker was that dude back in the day. So he has all the credibility to say whatever the hell he wants.”
Perkins took things a step further, not only backing Walker but any legitimate analyst of the sport, regardless of their background.
“What is credibility? You have to play the game? You have to be an MVP to come over here and state your opinion when somebody asks you about it in the game of basketball? This whole narrative has to change. You could be a student of the game, you could not play basketball at any level and be a student of the game and could give your opinion about the game of basketball.”
While Walker may have been quick to judge the Harden deal, it’s worth pointing out that the overarching opinion surrounding the nine-time All-Star during his latter days in Houston was not all too positive. With that said, Harden has fit like a glove since arriving in Brooklyn – albeit over a small sample size. Since joining the Nets, Harden has been an absolute stat sheet-stuffer, averaging 25.3 points, 11.2 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game and helping transform the Nets into legitimate title contenders.
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Ex-Celtic Claps Back at ‘Damn Sensitive’ James Harden