[Saba Sports News] During his introductory press conference with the Los Angeles Clippers, James Harden, who was recently traded from the Philadelphia 76ers, made a bold statement. He complained about feeling “on a leash” during his time with the Sixers and asserted, “I’m not a system player. I am a system.”
Harden clarified that he values open dialogue with a coach who trusts and understands him. However, his confident claim of being a system rather than a system player has drawn attention and highlights his self-assuredness.
“I think the game and I’m a creator on the court,” Harden said. “So if I got a voice to where I can, ‘Hey, Coach, I see this. What you think about this?’ Somebody that trusts me, that believes in me, that understands me. I’m not a system player. I am a system. You know what I mean? “So somebody that can have that dialogue with me, understand, move forward, figure out and make adjustments on the fly throughout the course of games, that’s all I really care about. It’s not about me scoring a basketball, scoring 34 points; I’ve done that already.”