Kevin Durant recently spoke with Houston Rockets star James Harden about the possibility of playing together in Brooklyn, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Zach Lowe, and Ramona Shelburne.
Harden was teammates with Durant in Oklahoma City over the first three seasons of his NBA career from 2009 through 2012, and the two All-Stars and former MVPs remain close friends.
“The idea of playing together again came up during Harden and Durant’s offseason workouts together in Los Angeles,” ESPN writes. “Sources said the players talked openly about whether the combination could work and how a trade facilitating it could work.”
Sources: The Rockets continue to tell teams that they plan “run it back” with Harden this season. So far, there have been no trade discussions between the Rockets and Nets. https://t.co/wHrTqvCPew
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 15, 2020
The idea of joining Durant and Kyrie Irving is “resonating with Harden,” who is becoming increasingly uneasy about Houston’s ability to compete for an NBA title, according to ESPN’s report. However, while Harden has been considering the possibility of pushing for a trade, no request had officially been made as of Sunday evening. (That’s in contrast to co-star Russell Westbrook, who has asked Houston for a trade.)
Even if a request is made, the Rockets are under no obligation to trade Harden, who is under contract for at least two more seasons. According to Sunday’s report, Houston has continued to tell teams that they plan to “run it back” with Harden, and no trade talks between the Rockets and Nets have taken place so far. “If the Rockets did decide to engage in trade talks on Harden, they’ve privately made it clear that they would require a monstrous return of players, draft picks and pick swaps,” ESPN writes.
ESPN story with @ramonashelburne and @ZachLowe_NBA on the Brooklyn Nets emerging as a preferred possible trade destination for Houston Rockets star James Harden: https://t.co/AEnmjoBu0X
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 15, 2020
It’s worth noting that Oklahoma City has the right to swap draft picks with Houston in the first round of the 2021 draft, which limits the potential incentive for the Rockets to begin any rebuilding process with the 2020-21 season. On the other hand, with full control of their first-round picks in 2022 and 2023, a Harden trade (should he want to leave) could make more sense for the Rockets in the 2021 offseason.
Now 31 years old, Harden has played eight of his 11 NBA seasons with the Rockets. He has led the league in scoring in each of the last three seasons (34.3 points per game in 2019-20), and he’s the only NBA player to be an MVP finalist and an All-NBA First Team member in each of the last four seasons. “The Beard” won the MVP award in 2018.
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