5 Minutes After Being Kicked Out by 76ers, James Harden Receives Harshly-Worded Reality Check From Paul Pierce: ?Can?t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks?

The NBA offseason usually presents a certain dose of drama, but nothing was as extreme as the situation in Philadelphia. What was once a cold shoulder, grew into a full-fledged rivalry spanning the entire summer. Even though the details of this feud aren’t public knowledge, the facts have become irrelevant. Because of James?Harden‘s outspoken demeanor on the matter, the saga seems to evolve every day.

As a result, it has drawn a lot of attention from the media and even several NBA legends. With the latest development perhaps serving as the most shocking of them all, a former Boston Celtics Champion had to air his opinion on the matter.

James Harden has faced some harsh truths

While Harden has been the aggressor in the last few months, the Philadelphia 76ers have yet to respond, until now. In a move never seen before, the team did something truly unprecedented and denied him a spot on their plane.

The sheer shock of this prompted a strong response from Paul Pierce. A professional to the tee during his playing days,?The Truth?wasn’t shy in addressing the situation in Philly. Due to the immediate nature of the development, happening just 5 minutes before Pierce’s comments, Paul was his candid best. He went into detail about the avenues that The Beard?could explore.

“He can go to China and make $30 million… Maybe there’s something in Saudi Arabia.” When asked if he thought it was over for James in the league, Pierce said, “There’s no question there are teams that could use James Harden but they don’t need the James Harden from Houston… The main guy.”

According to the 2008 Finals MVP, Harden needs to have a self-realization about the importance of sacrifice to victory. “Am I willing to come off the ball a little bit more? Spot up in the corner, set some screens. But, to me, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks… He could be out of the league.”

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Pierce even drew comparisons between Harden and his former teammate Russell Westbrook. During the last two seasons, Westbrook also had to come to similar realizations, like the former Los Angeles Clippers player was talking about. During his stint with the LA Lakers, he came to realize how a shift in his play style could contribute to winning. As a result, his tenure with the Clippers was far more successful.

Paul wants to see a similar trajectory for Harden. However, the “humbling” that the Celtics legend keeps talking about might not be more vicious than this latest incident.

No spot for Harden?

As per the latest reports, they did not give the former MVP entry to the team plane. Despite his arrival at the fixed-base operator, the team did not allow him to board the plane. Further, he was given the information by the security team, prompting a harsh reality check.

Denying a bonafide superstar and all-time great entry to the team’s flight is a wholly unprecedented move in NBA history. There hasn’t been such a clear distaste between franchise and player.

With a trade seemingly imminent, where could Harden end up? Or, could he be out of the league as Pierce seems to suggest?

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