Back in 2020, James Harden was traded to Brooklyn in one of the biggest deals of the season. With the Nets, the 9x All-Star had dreams of being part of a three-headed monster and ruling the Eastern Conference.
Instead, injuries and off-court scandals with Kyrie Irving have defined Harden’s tenure and the team now finds itself in free-fall after suffering their 7th straight loss on Friday.
The whole thing has the Beard re-thinking his future in Brooklyn and a return to the Rockets may not be completely out of the play.
The latest report by The Athletic’s Sam Amick:
Sources close to Simmons have insisted for quite some time now that Morey was hell-bent on finding a way to bring Harden to Philly. He nearly did it on Jan. 13, 2021, when Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta asked Harden to choose his destination — Brooklyn or Philly — and was relieved when he chose the Nets. The Rockets, who sources say made it clear to Harden that they would welcome him back in Houston if that was ever in the cards, were operating like a player-friendly operation in their handling of the deal but had all sorts of incentives to push the deal in Brooklyn’s direction.
Making sense of the latest James Harden-Ben Simmons development, exploring the Kyrie Irving factor/power dynamics, and handicapping what might happen next, w/ @johnhollinger and @Alex__Schiffer, at @TheAthletic
Might this Nets free-fall spark a deal?https://t.co/fT0BQXcMPe
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) February 5, 2022
While Harden’s talents are among the best in the league at his position, even some within the Nets organization are questioning the partnership.
With the NBA trade deadline just days away on Feb. 10, the 76ers are expected to pursue Harden in the coming days and the Nets are believed to be open to discussing a deal, sources with knowledge of the situation told The Athletic. There’s no urgency for Nets officials, who have had the steadfast belief that the current core, as is, has the means necessary for a championship. However, it’s believed that an opening exists should an offer elevate the team and make the roster more well-rounded as the franchise pursues a championship.
When Harden left Houston in a blaze of smoke and fire, nobody imagined he would ever be back.
Now, with the Nets on the verge of collapse, the possibility exists that the 3x Scoring Champ could don the jersey he rocked for nearly a decade.
At this point, the future is still unclear, but this series of events is not what anyone saw coming when Harden joined Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant a year and a half ago.
