The NBA teams – Philadelphia specifically – think James Harden will be available at the mid-season trade deadline, well, the Brooklyn Nets have a bridge they want to sell you on.
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The Nets have made it clear that they will not be hosting any offers for their All-Star guardian under ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The 76ers have been aggressively hunting Harden, hoping to reunite him with Daryl Morey, and have an All-Star of their own that they can hang as bait in Ben Simmons. There were even rumors that the Sixers would be set to stick with Simmons until the summer in order to strike a deal with the Nets in exchange for the 2018 NBA MVP.
Nets owner Joe Tsai, along with general manager Sean Marks, were both confident that Harden’s insistence on them that he was committed to winning the championship in Brooklyn was enough to warrant refusing to hear the objections. from other clubs.
In his 13-year career, Harden has never been a free agent, and during pre-season he refused to sign an extension, pushing the decision to the summer of 2022 when he will be a free agent. for the first time in his career. He has a player option for 2022-23 on the four-year contract he signed as a member of the Houston Rockets.
James Harden on not signing an extension: “Contract, the money will be there. I have no plans to leave this organization and the situation we are in. I focus on the season and win the championship. The contract and all that will unfold on its own as usual. ” pic.twitter.com/Dugwr89CD5
– Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) October 20, 2021
To stay with the Nets on a long-term agreement, Harden can opt into his $47.4 million contract for 2022-23 and sign a 4-year, $223 million extension at the start of the freelance agency.
THAN: Nets Superstar Reportedly Dissatisfied
A report from Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer on Tuesday fanned the flames even further indicating that Harden is unhappy in New York – for a number of reasons ranging from climate to dissatisfaction with Kyrie’s part-time status Irving, along with dissatisfaction with the state’s income. Taxes in New York are the same.
After Tuesday night’s loss to the Lakers, Harden said his frustration was with the team’s current situation.
“Of course I’m upset because we’re not healthy,” Harden said. “There’s a lot of inconsistency for whatever reason. Injuries, COVID, you want to call it. But yeah, it’s annoying. I think everyone in this organization is frustrated because we’re better than those. what we scored and we should be on our way.”
He added: “If you don’t hear from me, I’m not talking to anyone. I have an agent. If you don’t hear from me, that’s the report.”
Harden is averaging 23.0 points, 10.1 assists and 8.1 rebounds for the Nets this season.
