Sports

James Harden On The Move… Again

Ari Shemesh, Reporter

November 17, 2023

Ron Chenoy

Throughout his 15 year career in the league, James Harden has proven to be one of the best scorers in NBA history, despite the many arguments surrounding his flopping and large number of free throw attempts. He has proven to be an extremely efficient three-point shooter and facilitator on every team he has been a part of, each of them including various other superstars, such as Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Joel Embiid, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony.

This, however, is where the problems begin with Harden. Despite averaging more than 25 points per game for nearly a decade, he has recently exhibited a problem with loyalty over the past few NBA seasons. Over the course of the last four years, Harden has played on four different NBA teams. He spent nine seasons with the Houston Rockets, but at the end, after requesting a trade, he made it very apparent that he would not give his all in games until he was on a new team. He was then traded to the Brooklyn Nets, where he would stay for just a year and a half, before requesting another trade to the Philadelphia 76ers, where, once again, he would spend a year and a half. Just a few games into the current NBA season, he was traded yet again, this time to the Los Angeles Clippers, home to Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and his old teammate, Westbrook. This is not a good trade for the Clippers, who before, were 3-2, and have been 0-4 since, while the 76ers have not lost a game yet this season.

Harden’s main problem with the 76ers organization was that he did not feel that he was able to lead the team the way that he wanted to. However, this was not necessarily the case, as throughout his year and a half with the Sixers, he averaged 10.5 assists per game, while still averaging 21 points per game. Many NBA fans and analysts have criticized Harden as a result of this new trade. For instance, the Dallas Mavericks announcer stated, “James, you’re not the beard, you’re not the system, you’re the problem.”

The Clippers already had a system that, when healthy, was tough competition for some of the best teams in the league. That system has been torn apart by the team’s acquisition of James Harden, as his playstyle revolves around repeating isolation calls, which halts the fluidity of the team’s offense

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About the Contributor

Ari Shemesh, Reporter

Ari Shemesh, a senior at Adams, is excited to be back for his second year as a member of The Tower, and is eager to finally get back on the reporting grind. This year, Ari is hoping to spend more quality time with his friend David Nagy, amongst others (Isaac Shrader), while continuing to write for The Tower and learn valuable writing and reporting skills While his mornings are spent being an incredibly successful reporter, , Ari is starting his fourth year on the John Adams tennis team, where he dominates every afternoon. When given time to chill, Ari likes to play video games, watch movies, and watch or play sports with his family and friends. Furthermore, Ari enjoys spending his summers at an overnight camp, where this past summer break, he cleaned toilets and dishes for two months. Ari’s favorite classes in school are history and English; He is also a member of NHS, and spends time volunteering at the Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley. Ari is very excited to start his final year as a reporter and a student at Adams. His one request this year is that you guys help him finish the year with more reads than Isaac Shrader.