If James Harden is going to be traded by the Brooklyn Nets, it’s going to happen in the next three days. The deadline is on Feb. 10 at 3 p.m. ET and rumors have continued to heat up.
Harden has sat out for Brooklyn’s last two games with left hamstring tightness. He wasn’t on the bench in either Utah or Denver and was instead reportedly receiving treatment on his hamstring in the locker room.
Recently, Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer released a report going over the reasons why Harden would be willing to leave the Nets over the summer. Harden refuted the reports later that evening. However, last Friday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Brooklyn and Philadelphia were going to engage in trade talks in regards to Harden (although apparently, they have yet to do so).
Before the Nets-Nuggets game on Sunday, Steve Nash said that Brooklyn isn’t going to trade Harden. A day later, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Harden and his manager are looking for an agent to help the 32-year-old “navigate the situation.”
Sources told ESPN that Harden (who has no agent) & his manager have been searching for an agent to help navigate the situation -- whether that's free agency, a sign-and-trade to leave the Nets after the season, staying on a new deal, or even, a trade prior to Thursday's deadline
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) February 7, 2022
Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden is on the search for an agent.
As Shelburne and Wojnarowski noted, Harden and his manager are trying to find an agent regardless of if the guard chooses to leave or stay with the Nets.
That’s a detail that most are probably going to overlook. It doesn’t mean that Harden’s hoping to find an agent as soon as possible so that he can be traded by Thursday, although the trade is still very much a possibility.
"“Harden can become a free agent after this season, and although he has continued to tell his Nets teammates, the coaches and the front office that he is committed to winning in Brooklyn long term, his actions on and away from the court suggest some ambivalence.”"
According to Shelburne and Wojnarowski, Harden’s been without an agent for years but he most recently worked with agents Jason Ranne and Chafie Fields of Wasserman to facilitate a trade from the Rockets. That took place in January of 2021 and their relationship ended in March.
The 10-time All-Star verbalized his commitment to Brooklyn after he didn’t sign a contract extension ahead of the Oct. 18 deadline. However, recent reports, coupled with his recent actions, tell a different story.
If he is frustrated with Kyrie Irving and his part-time status, that makes sense. However, Harden’s play has been inconsistent all year, although he’s been the Nets’ most consistent player on the court. If Kevin Durant didn’t go down with a sprained MCL, he’d be beside Harden in games played at Barclays Center.
Harden’s intentions aren’t clear. Even if he remains on Brooklyn’s roster beyond the deadline, there’s still a chance that he’ll leave during the offseason. He’s expressed his excitement over being a free agent for the first time in his career.
Over the next three days, the question is going to remain the same – Is Harden going to stay with the Nets? And even if he does, it doesn’t seem like he’s all in but maybe that storyline will change once Durant is back.
What should Brooklyn fans believe at this point?
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