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James Harden Reveals Losing To The Lakers In The Playoffs Made Him Re-Evaluate His Career

After several weeks of rumors, drama and speculation, James Harden’s wish to leave the Houston Rockets was granted on Wednesday following his controversial statement after their second loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

Ironically, that back-to-back blowout loss wasn’t the first time the LeBron-led Lakers reinforced Harden’s career decisions going forward. In Harden’s first interview as a member of the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, ‘The Beard’ indicated that his desire to leave the Rockets started after losing to the Lakers in last year’s playoffs.

Per the Houston Chronicle:

“After the bubble, after that loss, I wanted to re-evaluate my career, the team, where the organization was going,” Harden said Friday in his introductory news conference as a member of the Brooklyn Nets’ new Big Three. “You look from top to bottom, the general manager (Daryl Morey) leaving, Mike D’Antoni leaving, to re-evaluating our personnel and seeing if we had enough to compete with the best teams in this league. As time went on, as free agency and things like that started to go on, I felt like we didn’t have a chance.

“As much as I love the city of Houston, love being there, at that point in my career, it’s not about money, it’s not about anything else but having a chance of reaching that ultimate goal — that’s winning at the highest level.”