CLEVELAND, Ohio — New Cavs star James Harden is spitting too much truth into the microphone, and like Jack Nicholson in “A Few Good Men,” I’m not sure people can handle it.
We all say we want honesty from athletes, but sometimes they give it to us, and — ooo — it cuts too deep. Reporters asked Harden last week why stars change teams more often these days. Then he dropped a truth bomb that challenged our perspective.
“The whole quote-unquote loyalty thing … I think it’s overrated,” Harden said. ”It’s a lot of money involved and a lot of decisions that has to be made. So if a player isn’t producing or if you don’t see him in your future, if the front office — some of them have to do a job and want to keep their job. So they got to do what’s best to keep their job and trade players.”
“Or if a guy isn’t happy and he wants to be traded to somewhere else, then it’s a problem. It’s just so many different dynamics that go into it.”
He’s got a point, you know, no matter how much it hurts to hear. Loyalty, a longtime favorite tenet among sports fans, has earned its air quotes during today’s era.
Players like Harden, who just joined his fourth new team in five seasons, wield more leverage over franchises than their predecessors. Their message to NBA front offices reads something like this: Pay me and pave my roster with talent. Or I’ll find someone who will.
Simultaneously, teams pivot philosophies and trade players without a pinch of pity in mind. Former Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas once played through a hip injury that required surgery during the playoffs. Boston traded him three months later, and Thomas was never the same player after his surgery.
Clippers guard Darius Garland once helped lead Cleveland out of its dark, directionless post-LeBron Era. But the Cavs traded Garland earlier this month while he recovered from injury. He can look forward to his jumbotron tribute video next year.
Point being, I don’t think players are the only party prioritizing personal interests in this equation. I don’t fault Harden for expressing a thought that spans the league. And I don’t think I’m the only one.
“You can’t blame a guy for, you know, wanting to maximize his opportunity, maximize life changing money for his family,” Cavs star Donovan Mitchell said Wednesday. “On the flip side, it’s that it’s that weird side of sports where it’s like there’s business, but there’s also the concept (of), I want to be here forever, like there’s always that with every with every athlete.
“So I really respect the fact that (Harden) was honest. I think a lot a lot of guys relate to that insight on, hey, there’s so much love here, for sure. But there’s also things that can kind of get in the way.”
Look no further than Milwaukee, home of an awkward staring contest between the Bucks and star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, for Mitchell’s point (minus Harden’s candor). Over the last several months, the Greek Freak has — carefully, indirectly — tried to orchestrate his exit from Milwaukee. Or should I say, as ESPN’s Shams Charania reported last May, that Antetokounmpo has become “open-minded about exploring whether his best long-term fit is remaining in Milwaukee or playing elsewhere.”
The Bucks star doesn’t want to leave town. He just wants to contend for championships, and he doesn’t think the Milwaukee is equipped to compete for one.
No trade request here. Just an awkward series of half-measure trade nudges that resulted in the Bucks shopping, then retaining their superstar at the trade deadline. They hope to draft an enticing rookie and/or swing a trade that catches Antetokounmpo’s attention this summer.
They’re not trading him until they have to, even though Milwaukee has reached a natural franchise pivot point. Antetokounmpo isn’t forcing a deal, either, even though the Bucks don’t fit his contention timeline anymore. So it goes.
Nobody wins, particularly those following this exhausting story. And with every please-trade-me (but don’t say I asked) press release, I gain more respect for players like Harden.
Maybe he won’t be loved in Oklahoma City, Houston, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Los Angeles or Cleveland the way Warriors fans love Steph Curry, who has played 17 of 17 seasons with Golden State. But Harden doesn’t pretend otherwise. He recognizes that fans root for laundry first. He knows front offices only love him as long as it suits their salary cap. He reciprocates their energy.
Cold world? Try corporate world. You might love your job today, but you’d leave tomorrow for the right opportunity. And if you didn’t, then your boss would fire you if a cheaper employee could fill your shoes.
The money is better in Harden’s world. But the principle remains. The difference between him and other stars is that he’s willing to tell us the harsh truth.
“This is a business at the end of the day,” Harden said last week. “So not even just the NBA, but people that have normal jobs have those same problems. It’s just not magnified.
“… I feel like players should ultimately do what’s best for them and front office does what’s best for them and their owner and their organization. So it’s two sides of the story.”