Report: James Harden Was Wary of Kyrie Irving's Status for Potential Raptors Series

It appears James Harden might have wanted out of Brooklyn partially because of hurdles related to Kyrie Irving's vaccination status. 

The new Philadelphia 76ers guard reportedly was worried about not having Irving available for a possible postseason series against the Toronto Raptors, according to SNY's Ian Begley: 

"According to a source, the prospect of playing the Raptors in the postseason was one of the reasons James Harden was concerned about Irving’s vaccine status earlier in the season. Harden, as you know, forced a trade from Brooklyn to the Philadelphia 76ers prior to the deadline."

Irving isn't allowed to play in Canada or at home games in Barclays Center because he is unvaccinated against COVID-19. 

However, Harden said last month that Irving's part-time playing status had a "very minimal" role in his decision to seek a trade. He did say not having Irving available for home games "definitely did impact the team."

If the regular season ended today, the Nets would be facing the Raptors to kick off the play-in round, so it's not necessarily surprising that Harden was reportedly concerned about the possibility of being without Irving altogether. 

The trio of Harden, Irving and Kevin Durant only played 16 games together but went 13-3 in those contests. 

With Harden now in Philadelphia, he still has a chance at winning an NBA title alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The Sixers have gone 3-0 in games Harden has played, while it's a small sample, they have a net rating of plus-28 when he's on the court compared to minus-4.5 when he sits, according to NBA.com. 

The 76ers enter Friday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers second in the East with a 38-23 record. They are just 2.5 games behind the first-place Miami Heat. 

Brooklyn, meanwhile, is eighth in the standings with a 32-32 record and has been on a spiral of late, losing 16 of its last 19 games. Durant had been sidelined with an MCL injury for most of those contests, but he returned to the lineup Thursday for a six-point loss to the Miami Heat.