Did "the Beard" Quit on the Nets?

The way I ultimately see James Harden bouncing on the Nets, in hindsight, is like this.  We're living in an age where American employees especially are less faithful to their employers than they've ever been.  This is a phenomenon that the mainstream media has dubbed "the Great Resignation", which means that some of these people are quitting and staying at home, but most are switching to other employers.  And pulling off that kinda stunt, quitting before you have another job, takes some courage, i.e. an employee being empowered to believe that they can actually make such a move, because who's to say you'll get a new job anyway, or that the new one will be better than the last?

The Beard is that kind of employee.  No, he didn't technically leave his job, but he did demand a trade (twice), which takes some balls and confidence on a number of levels.  For instance, I think it's safe to say that there's more players who want to be traded than the few who actually step up in public and say so.  So you have to feel somehow empowered, even if you're Furkan Korkmaz - whom the Sixers, wisely I might add, haven't traded in their pursuit of the Larry O'Brien.

The difference between an NBA star and, say, working for Microsoft is, how many Microsoft employees you can name who you don't personally know?  But sports teams have fans.  And again, it's one thing if, say, Korkmaz demands a trade.  But let it be Embiid or Harden or someone whom Philly fans have placed their championship dreams in.  Like, we already saw the type of backlash Ben Simmons went through when he decided to bounce.

So I wasn't really feeling how the media sympathized with the Beard when, finally now after Irving and Durant also quit on Brooklyn, he's blaming it on the organization.  I can understand how no player would want to be on a team with "a lot of dysfunction", and out of the three, I also understand why Kyrie would have been compelled to bounce.  But I also know what it means to be "professional" anything, that you're supposed to ignore the distractions as much as possible.

The entire Last Dance was based on how the Jordan Bulls were dysfunctional in 97-98 but still managed to win a championship.  Scottie Pippen quit for awhile but then came back to his senses.  After all, it's not like he's only playing for the benefit of the team's owners and executives.  There's also his teammates, the gazillions of fans he will never met personally and also his own future as a respectable player to take into consideration.

So the Beard may have had his viable reasons for quitting on the Nets, but quit he did.  A guy may have viable reasons for dumping his girlfriend, but unless she cheated, they're all bound to be excuses anyway.  I never particularly believed in the combination of Harden + Durant + Irving anyway.  But now looking back, it's like who knows what would've happened if they were all healthy during a playoff run?

CONCLUSION

But I guess all's well that ends well.  Harden is now on a team that can win a championship even without him being his old self.  Durant going to Phoenix, if all the stars stay healthy, pretty much guarantees him another 'I joined a superteam' championship (though in this case they actually need him).  Irving has gone to Dallas, not the smartest move in that they already have a better PG in Doncic, but at least it appears the Mavs understand and appreciate him as a person.

Also amidst all the chaos, Jae Crowder ended up on the team that will most likely meet the Suns in the Finals, and as for the new Nets, trust me, this isn't a garbage roster.  And to think this all may have started with the Beard forcing himself out of Brooklyn.