Nets Trade Rumors: Examining 2022 Deadline Reports
When an NBA team loses eight games in a row, the alarms start sounding.
And when that team was a favorite to win the championship at the start of the regular season and the trade deadline is fast approaching, those alarms become deafening.
After sitting in first place in the standings in the Eastern Conference on Christmas Day, the Brooklyn Nets find themselves in seventh and, if the season were to end today, having to compete in the play-in tournament to make the playoffs.
So naturally, the rumor mill is filled with possible trades that the Nets could or should make before Thursday's deadline.
The most popular scuttlebutt, of course, involves James Harden.
There probably isn't a team in the league that doesn't want the 10-time All Star, but the Philadelphia 76ers have made it abundantly clear that they are interested in the one-time league MVP.
In fact, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne, 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey reached out to Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks in January to inquire about Harden's availability and was rebuffed.
Ideally, the 76ers would like to trade Ben Simmons for Harden. Right now, though, it seems like that deal won't happen, with Nets head coach Steve Nash recently saying the team wouldn't be trading James Harden at the trade deadline.
But things can change in the NBA within the blink of an eye.
One of the biggest things contributing to the outside noise around Harden is his intentions.
Brooklyn offered Harden a three-year, $161 million extension last summer, but he didn't sign. That makes him a free agent after this season.
So as adamant as the Nets are about not trading him before the deadline, that could change if Harden suddenly expressed that he wants to be traded. Brooklyn can't afford to lose Harden for nothing. It would be better to get a player like Ben Simmons in return.
Despite not signing the extension, Harden has been saying all the right things when communicating with the Nets.
"I've talked to James; he wants to be here," Nash told ESPN's Nick Friedell. "He wants to be here long term as well, so I don't think anything's changed other than noise from the outside. James wants to be here, we're building with James and we think we have the best chance to win with James.
"I don't think anything's changed on the inside, in our locker room, in our communication. It's just all the noise from the [outside]."
Harden has been sidelined of late with left hamstring tightness. But when he's been on the court, he hasn't exactly been playing at an MVP level, shooting just 41.4 percent from the field and 33.2 percent from behind the arc, the lowest of his career.
Add to that his uninspired play in the 112-101 loss to the Sacramento Kings, wherein he scored only four points and turned over the ball six times to get his 12 assists, and it looks as if Harden might not be as committed as he's told his teammates and the Nets organization.
The Harden saga is the one that everyone is watching, but even if the deadline passes and the bearded guard stays put, that doesn't mean the Nets won't make any moves.
They have been riddled with injuries and have a part-time player in Kyrie Irving.
But one loss in particular doesn't get talked about as much as it should: Joe Harris.
Harris is a sniper who spaces the floor for Brooklyn, and without him, their offense has been a grind.
And since it's unclear when he will be back in action, the Nets are looking to shore up their outside shooting, according to The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor.
"In general, league sources say Brooklyn is scouring the trade market for shooting on the wing," O'Connor wrote.
This could be where the 76ers could sweeten the pot, possibly adding in Seth Curry with Simmons to get Harden.
Curry is too important to what Philly does, so it's unlikely they would package him in any deal with Simmons. Danny Green makes more sense from the 76ers' side of things, but would the Nets want him?
Brooklyn has such a top-heavy roster that it's hard to imagine players they have outside of their starting five who could bring them the kind of player they would want to add some much needed shooting.
No matter what happens Thursday, all eyes will be on the Nets.
