The Truth is going after The Beard in some new comments this week.
Retired Basketball Hall of Famer Paul Pierce appeared on a new episode of fuboTV’s “No Chill with Gilbert Arenas” and took a shot at James Harden while discussing Harden’s move to the Philadelphia 76ers.
“When I look at that, [Joel] Embiid right now is the best big in the game,” said Pierce. “But if I had a chance to play with the talent that Harden played with, I’d probably be walking out of here with five championships. I mean, he done played with Chris Paul, [Russell] Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard, Kyrie Irving, now you playing with [Embiid]. You played with all Hall of Famers, and it ain’t worked yet.”
In fairness, Harden only got a chance to play in 16 games with Durant and Irving due to injury and vaccine reasons, so that one probably deserves an incomplete. Meanwhile, Harden did make the NBA Finals with Durant and Westbrook in Oklahoma City and almost made another one with Chris Paul in Houston before Paul hurt his hamstring against Golden State in 2018. But Harden probably still deserves legitimate criticism for failing to make it work with Howard, Westbrook, and others in Houston as well.
As for Pierce, he won one title in his NBA career. His supporting cast with the Boston Celtics was infamously lousy in the first half of Pierce’s career, as the best player he played with through 2007 was probably Antoine Walker. Pierce then won a ring in 2008 when he teamed up with Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo. The team also remained a force over the next half-decade but still managed only that one ring. Meanwhile, Pierce also failed to win it all with Garnett, Joe Johnson, and Deron Williams in Brooklyn, then again with John Wall and Bradley Beal in Washington, and then once more with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin on the LA Clippers. Granted, Pierce was already in the twilight of his career for most of those post-Boston years.
Pierce is right that Harden’s legacy will likely suffer if Harden is unable to win an NBA championship alongside Embiid after having so many bites at the apple with so many different co-stars. But it is also worth noting that Pierce has a history of not giving current guards their props.
Photo: Feb 25, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden (1) brings the ball up court against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
