Getty Image / Thearon W. Henderson
- James Harden has been rumored to want out of Brooklyn recently
- Today, the Nets’ head coach gave his take on the situation
- Read more BroBible articles here
The NBA world got some surprising news a couple of weeks ago when a report surfaced saying that James Harden wanted out of Brooklyn. Then the news got even more interesting as it was reported that the Nets were open to dealing Harden.
While all of that has been going on, we haven’t gotten much of a definitive answer on Harden’s future and the only trade partner we’ve heard about is the Philadelphia 76ers. Now we’ve at least heard from one member of the Nets’ organization about Harden’s situation.
Steve Nash gave an unequivocal “yes” when asked if he could definitively say they wouldn’t trade James Harden before the deadline.
“I’ve talked to James; he wants to be here, and he wants to be here long term as well. So I don’t think anything’s changed other than noise from the outside.
“James wants to be here. We’re building with James and we think we have the best chance to win with James. So I don’t think anything’s changed on the inside in our locker room, in our communication. It’s just all the noise from the outside.”
A James Harden trade would be bad news for the Brooklyn Nets. They wouldn’t be likely to land an equivalent player in return and they are already expected to be without Kyrie Irving for at least half of their playoff games.
It might be worse for Harden. Harden is seen by many NBA fans as a very talented player who always comes up short in the playoffs. If he bails on Kyrie and Kevin Durant without a ring, the narrative on him will continue. It also seems unlikely he’d finally get that ring if he leaves KD.
For now, a trade would be a bad idea for both sides, but the relationship between Harden and the Nets doesn’t seem like one that’s built to last.