James Harden has passed through many different phases in his Hall of Fame career, and not all of them have produced aesthetically pleasing basketball.
In particular, Harden's Houston Rockets era was too ball-dominant for purists to respect. That's fair; as is, to a lesser extent, Bill Simmons's recent complaint that he didn't enjoy watching Harden on the Los Angeles Clippers and is glad James got traded (Simmons has Clippers season tickets).
But what Simmons and other critics of Harden don't acknowledge enough is that Harden has different basketball identities beyond being a one-man offense.
James Harden's playmaking in Cleveland will be a joy to watch
As Harden displayed in Brooklyn and Oklahoma City, he's a gifted passer who is more than capable of sharing the basketball and operating as a second or third option on a contender.
That's just what Harden will be asked to do in Cleveland behind Donovan Mitchell, and it's also what promises to make the brand of basketball he plays with the Cavs a lot more palatable than Simmons and others expect.
Harden embracing a playmaker role (and fewer shot attempts) is what's best for his career, too. At 36 years old, Harden can't be expected to shoulder the scoring load for a contender like he was asked to do during his Houston days. That's Mitchell's role in Cleveland now.
Fans scoffing at the Cavs-Harden trade or rolling their eyes are probably envisioning the alpha version of Harden (only older) clogging up Cleveland's flowing offense, which has looked potent of late with growing contributions from Jaylon Tyson and, more recently, an injection of athletic energy from Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis.
Interrupting all of this energy is not what Harden was acquired by Koby Altman for, and it's not what James is going to do. His basketball IQ won't allow for it. Harden knows what it takes to get to an NBA Finals, and he's at the point in his career where ego and money concerns are in the rearview.
This is one of the reasons why the elder Harden is a better fit with the win-now Cavs than a 26-year-old Darius Garland was. Harden's mental faculties when it comes to NBA basketball are likely focused on team success and nothing else from here on out.
If he was able to take a back seat a few years ago on the Nets -- when he was closer to his prime -- why would anyone expect that he can't do the same thing now beside Mitchell?
People thinking that Harden is going to be a boring ball-stopper in Cleveland are profoundly mistaken. What we're going to see is Harden the playmaker, which has always been the most entertaining version of The Beard to watch.