NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal is clearly not a fan of how James Harden handled his exit with the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. The Beard got his wish on Wednesday to join Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving with the Brooklyn Nets following one of the biggest trades in recent memory.

While Shaq is also no stranger to trade demands back in his playing days, he was particularly critical of James Harden's controversial last remarks about the Rockets that ultimately led to the blockbuster trade.

In the latest episode of NBA on TNT on Thursday, the 4-time NBA champion did not mince words as usual. James Harden was not spared.

“When you say you have the city your all, that ain't true. You asked for Dwight Howard, we gave them to you, didn't work out. You asked for Chris Paul, we gave them to you. You asked for some shooters, we gave them to you. You asked for Westbrook, your homeboy from little league, we gave him to you. It didn't work out.”

The Big Aristotle even backed up his bold claims with some stats of James Harden's supposed poor performances in big games for Clutch City.

“He ain't do nothing. He ain't step up when he was supposed to step up,” Shaq added.

Here's the full clip on James Harden:

 

In his last post-game interview as a member of the Rockets, James Harden said that the situation in Houston is unfixable.  That was the last straw for the Rockets brass, who clearly tried to make it work with their disgruntled superstar at the start of the 2020-21 NBA campaign. As far as Shaquille O'Neal is concerned, The Beard should have handled things differently.

James Harden trade, Rockets“image

James Harden is trying to make a new start of his career with the Nets, but that doesn't mean the Houston-specific chapter of his NBA career and legacy are a closed book. If anything, the discussion surrounding that part of his pro basketball journey is just beginning in some ways.