When the Brooklyn Nets made the blockbuster trade for James Harden early in the 2020-21 season, many saw it as a move to create their own Big 3 with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. However, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski believes otherwise.
According to Woj, the Nets saw acquiring Harden as a “necessity” to prepare for the possibility that they could not count on Irving when it matters most.
“When the Nets made [the Harden] trade, they saw James Harden as a necessity. I think that they could already see that they may not be able to count on Kyrie Irving,” Woj said in his latest podcast, per Alec Sturm of Nets Daily.
Kyrie Irving's offcourt work has certainly been always a concern, and while Woj is only expressing his opinion on the matter, it is not without basis. After all, it should be recalled that the Nets guard pushed hard for his Brooklyn teammates and other players to skip the bubble during the 2019-20 season over the racial climate and COVID-19 pandemic at the time. He reportedly even proposed for the players to start their own league.
Now, Irving is refusing to get vaccinated in what he confirmed to be a protest over COVID-19 vaccine mandates that has cost a lot of people their jobs. The Nets have decided to sit out the superstar guard in all their games until he gets the vaccine since he won't be allowed to play at home in the first place due to New York's protocol requiring people to get the shot.
The Nets, for their part, certainly did the right move by acquiring James Harden in the past season. While they would have certainly liked the idea of a true Big 3, having two of the best scorers in the league leading the way isn't bad at all.
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