J.B. Bickerstaff reacts to James Harden saying loyalty is ‘overrated’

Former Cleveland Cavaliers and current Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff recently reacted to Cavs newcomer James Harden’s comments on loyalty being “overrated” in the NBA.

Harden, who was traded to the Cavs by the Los Angeles Clippers at the trade deadline, has played for several teams in his NBA career, including the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Clippers and now the Cavs.

He’s forced himself out of multiple situations in recent years, as he has seemingly focused on what is best for him throughout his time in the NBA.

Bickerstaff seems to understand why the former league MVP sees loyalty as an overrated concept in the NBA.

“I understand what he’s saying, you know what I mean?” Bickerstaff said of Harden’s comments. “This is – and we’ve all been treated this way at some point in time in our career – it’s been a transaction where people make the decisions that they think are best for them. You don’t wanna breed an environment where people feel that in your own building, but people are gonna make cold-hearted decisions in this business, so I get what he’s saying.”

The Cavs are hoping that Harden can be the missing piece for them as they chase a title in the 2025-26 season. Cleveland is currently the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, but it is just 1.5 games out of the No. 2 seed coming out of the All-Star break.

Cleveland is also on a five-game winning streak and has turned its season around after getting off to a slow start relative to expectations.

This season, Harden is averaging 25.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game while shooting 42.0 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from 3-point range. The star guard is putting up 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists per contest in three games with the Cavs.

Bickerstaff was a part of a big decision for the Cavs recently as well, as the team moved on from him ahead of the 2024-25 season and hired current head coach Kenny Atkinson.

Atkinson led the Cavs to the No. 1 seed in the East last season, but Bickerstaff has landed on his feet in Detroit.

He took the Pistons to the playoffs in the 2024-25 season as the No. 6 seed in the East, and this season, the Pistons have the best record in the conference and are in the mix for the best record in the entire NBA.

It’s possible Harden and the Cavs will meet the Pistons at some point in the playoffs in the 2025-26 season.