Report: Potential James Harden Trade Not Supported by Every Nets Player
On Sunday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Ramona Shelburne and Zach Lowe reported that James Harden had the Brooklyn Nets atop his wish list should the Houston Rockets trade him.
The possibility of Harden pairing with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving would send shivers down the spines of NBA defenses. But SNY's Ian Begley reported later Sunday that "not all players contacted about a potential Harden-to-Brooklyn deal were in favor of it, sources said."
There are plenty of questions about how such a trade would even work, if both teams seriously engaged in those talks, which in and of itself feels unlikely.
For one, the Nets would have to send back somewhere in the neighborhood of $41.2 million to make the trade work. Caris LeVert ($16.2 million), Spencer Dinwiddie ($11.4 million) and Taurean Prince ($12.2 million) would get the Nets up to $39.8 million, though the Rockets would also ask for an enormous load of future first-round picks and such a deal would leave the Nets extremely thin on the wing.
As ESPN reported, the Rockets have "privately made it clear that they would require a monstrous return of players, draft picks and pick swaps" to part ways with Harden.
Another factor: How would Harden and Irving coexist?
We know Harden can play with Durant and their skill sets mesh well together. But it didn't take long for Harden and Chris Paul to butt heads, while Russell Westbrook is ready to leave Houston after just one year. There's a theme here—perhaps Harden's high usage doesn't sit so well with other players accustomed to running an offense.
Because Irving is such a good shooter, he could perhaps adjust more seamlessly to spending more time off the ball. LeBron James operated as the point forward when they played together in Cleveland. But Irving is also superb at breaking down opponents off the dribble and finishing at the rim. He seems to like having the ball in his hands. Maybe he'd sacrifice some of those elements for the betterment of the team, though trying to predict how Irving will respond to new circumstances is murky territory.
Or maybe Harden would be happy settling into more of a shooting guard role.
Oh, and would that team play any defense at all? Durant made himself a better defender and rim-protector in Golden State, but that team had that culture in place behind Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. Harden and Irving, on the other hand, have never been mistaken for Gary Payton.
So it's a fascinating scenario, but there are enough complications and potential clashes of ego to make this feel like an experiment that could go astray quickly. The Nets would be fun to watch during the honeymoon phase, namely on offense. But it's fair to question if the trio of Harden, Durant and Irving would be able to coexist for long.
