We have ourselves a mini-beef between Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden and former Boston Celtics star Antoine Walker.
During a recent appearance on the "All Things Covered" podcast with Patrick Peterson and Bryant McFadden, Walker explained why he was glad the Celtics didn't try to trade for Harden earlier this season.
"I'm not a James Harden guy, and it's not personal but you can't win with that style," Walker said. "... Any time it takes a guy six, seven, eight dribbles to get to where he has to go, that's a problem. It works today because it's more of a pick-and-roll league, so he gets away with a lot of things now, but I would not leverage my future for James Harden."
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Walker isn't alone in his take, as Harden's ball-dominant style has plenty of critics. But when the Nets star caught wind of Walker's comments, he wasn't pleased.
"Stuff like that I don’t pay attention to, especially somebody that has no credibility," Harden said Sunday in a video conference prior to the NBA All-Star Game, per USA TODAY's Michael Scotto.
That's quite the diss, even if it's a bit of a cheap shot.
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Walker enjoyed a 12-year NBA career and averaged 20.6 points per game over his eight seasons in Boston with three All-Star appearances, so he's just as qualified to analyze Harden's game as any other former player, even if Harden didn't like what he had to say.
The Celtics reportedly considered trading for Harden before the Houston Rockets dealt him to the Nets in January. While his talent is undeniable -- he won three straight NBA scoring titles in Houston and was NBA MVP in 2018 -- he consistently ranks among the league's usage rate leaders and may not have meshed well with young Boston stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Harden can prove Walker wrong if he, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving win a championship together with the Nets. If things go south in Brooklyn, however, Walker will earn the right to say, "I told you so."