HARD’ PASS
Report: Nets won’t entertain offers for frustrated superstar
When the Nets put their Big 3 together, they did so with the hope that their trademark characteristic would be winning.
Instead, their first full season together — especially what’s now left of it — has largely been defined by uncertainty.
There has been plenty of it lately, with the most recent dose coming Tuesday when a Bleacher Report story depicted an unhappy James Harden — frustrated with Kyrie Irving being a part-time player, disappointed with coach Steve Nash’s inconsistent rotations and “not enjoying” life in Brooklyn — which opened the door to him leaving through an opt-out this summer.
But the Nets won’t be listening to any offers for Harden ahead of the Feb. 10 trade deadline, ESPN reported Wednesday, adding that the
pending free agent has insisted to ownership and management that he is committed to staying and winning a title with the franchise — despite not yet signing an extension.
“I think James is happy to be here, I just think it’s frustrating right now because we haven’t played great basketball, we’ve had a lot of injuries, a lot of illness, a lot of guys in and out of the lineup, a lot of chop and change,” Nash said Wednesday before a 124-118 loss to the Nuggets. “So that can be frustrating for sure to not have that kind of consistency to build on. We haven’t had our best performances. We’ve had a few, but ever since the COVID return, it’s been very let’s say average basketball overall. We have higher expectations and it’s frustrating, but I think James is happy here for sure.”
Harden, who sat out Wednesday’s loss with left hamstring tightness after being a late addition to the injury report, can earn more money by waiting until this summer to sign an extension with the Nets. But until he actually puts pen to paper, rumors of a potential reunion with ex-Rockets GM Daryl Morey in Philadelphia are unlikely to go away.
It’s hardly the only bit of uncertainty surrounding the Nets these days, all of which has muddled the question of just how good they can be.
There is also the health of Kevin Durant and Joe Harris — Durant out with a sprained MCL and not expected back until after the All-Star break late next month, and Harris
still sidelined by November ankle surgery, with a slow recovery that has faced some setbacks and led to getting a second opinion this week.
Then there is Irving, who is still only seven games in to life as a part-time player because of his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine and inability to play home games because of local mandates. It requires adjustments both for him, adapting to a new role and schedule, and for the Nets as they try to balance rotations while having Irving in and out of the lineup.
“When we focus on process and the task at hand, it alleviates a lot of the distraction and alleviates wasting time thinking about who’s not available tonight or what the problems that we’re facing are,” Nash said.
The Nets are now 2-4 since Durant went down with his knee injury. They will begin a challenging five-game road trip on Saturday, with Irving at their disposal, and Nash said he was “hopeful” to have Harden back as well.
Harden has been leaned on for heavy minutes — he was second in the league averaging 37 minutes per game entering Wednesday — which Nash said he was conscious of.
“We would like to protect him more but he’s a competitor, he wants to be out there so we try to have our little tug of war,” Nash said. “I think that’s why at times we like to ask him to miss games so he can regenerate and be a little bit safer as far as being ready to go when the playoffs begin.”