Stephen A. Smith: Nets Holding Off on James Harden Trade Due to Kevin Durant

There has been no shortage of rumors regarding a potential trade between the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers that would send Harden to Philly and Ben Simmons the other way, but one important figure may veto any potential agreement.

According to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, Harden wants out of Brooklyn but his teammate, Kevin Durant, is putting a halt to any such trade:

"The reason why the Nets have held off on it, according to my sources, is that Kevin Durant chimed in and said, 'Excuse me, I'm supposed to be back after the All-Star break. Well, guess what? If I'm back, I'm healthy.' They're expecting and anticipating that the New York mayor will lift that mandate, that mandate for the vaccine and what have you, in terms of being vaccinated. They're anticipating that something like that will happen, which would make Kyrie Irving available [for home games]. And then you couple both of that with James Harden and things would get better."

Things are not great at the moment. The Nets have lost nine straight games, Harden has already been ruled out for tomorrow's game with hamstring tightness that has cost him the past three games, Durant is sidelined with a knee injury and Irving can't play in any of the team's home games as an unvaccinated player because of a New York City mandate. 

Smith is the latest person to report that Harden is unhappy in Brooklyn and wants out, but whether or not the Nets have, or will, engage with the Sixers in a potential trade is extremely unclear. 

ESPN's Brian Windhorst said earlier on Wednesday that Harden was desperate for a trade and that the Nets and Sixers were "absolutely" negotiating a trade and have "swapped offers."

"His actions over the last 10 days are basically a threat to the Nets," he said of Harden, adding that the veteran point guard "is screaming in every way he possibly can, 'I don't want to be here. Get me out of here.'"

But Windhorst's ESPN colleague, Adrian Wojnarowski, reported something much different later in the day.

"There has not been meaningful dialogue between the 76ers and the Nets," he said on NBA Countdown. "Now that doesn't mean it won't happen between now and [Thursday's] trade deadline, but any potential Harden trade to Philadelphia—or anywhere—would take a significant amount of negotiation. And it's not as simple as just Simmons for Harden."

Woj added that if Harden indeed plans to sign elsewhere in the summer, the Nets likely will treat the rest of this season like Toronto did when they traded for Kawhi Leonard, knowing they likely would only have a short window to win a title before he departed as a free agent. 

Those Raptors did win a title. These Nets might too. The worst-case scenario, however, is that they fail to win a title, Harden signs in Philly as a free agent anyway and the Nets get nothing in return. 

A lot would have to happen for that worst-case scenario to unfold, however, including the Sixers moving off big contracts like Simmons and Tobias Harris in cost-cutting trades.

The Nets, if they choose to play the waiting game, are likely banking on two other possibilities—either the return of Durant helping to soothe over Harden's reported unhappiness both in the present and in the future, or the Sixers struggling to clear the cap space needed to sign Harden outright over the summer and instead needing to work a sign-and-trade deal with Brooklyn to acquire him. 

Philly, in turn, would surely love to replace Simmons—who remains away from the team—with a superstar like Harden to pair with Joel Embiid, himself amidst an MVP-esque year. Losing another year of Embiid's prime wouldn't be ideal, but the possibility of simply getting Harden come the summer may keep Philly from depleting their entire war chest in a trade. 

And thus, the game of chicken continues.