The COVID-19 pandemic will mute the response of Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden returning to Houston on Wednesday for the first time since he was traded, in … NEW YORK (AP) — James Harden will start Saturday night in his Brooklyn Nets debut against the Orlando Magic. Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden (13) warms up before the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets Wednesday, March 3, 2021, in Houston. Harden, 31, has two years remaining on his contract, plus a player option for the 2022–23 season. Houston Rockets to Trade James Harden to the Nets. Nets’ James Harden barges into MVP race with Player of the Month win. The Rockets instead went ahead with a four-team trade based heavily on draft compensation involving the Nets, the Pacers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. I literally have done everything that I can. The duo was a big reason the Nets were able to emerge from the N.B.A.’s shadows so soon after the failed Pierce and Garnett trade. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 16, 2021 The Nets completed a … In 2004, they traded for a 27-year-old Vince Carter, who was almost as open about his displeasure with the Toronto Raptors as Harden was about his with the Rockets. Continuing to play like that doesn’t seem feasible with two ball-dominant stars on the floor as well, which Nash, with D’Antoni’s help, will have to figure out. It’s something that I don’t think can be fixed. ", On Wednesday, head coach Stephen Silas said the Rockets decided it was in the team's best interest for James Harden "not to come to practice.". This is not the first time that the Nets have gone this route. He is averaging 24.8 points and 10.4 assists per game for a … The San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics all have home games scheduled for April 1. “I love this city. The Brooklyn Nets … The Nets are trading for All-NBA star James Harden and sending four first-round picks and four draft swaps to the Rockets, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports . Mar 1, 2021; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden (13) goes in for a shot in front of San Antonio Spurs in the second half at the AT&T Center. This time around, the Nets gave up more picks, and two players with significant potential in Allen and LeVert. As The Athletic's Sam Amick and Shams Charania reported earlier Wednesday, the Nets were preparing a package that included all of their four future first-round picks and three future pick swaps and that a deal was to culminate quickly. James Harden Makes NBA History With 30-Point Triple-Double Brooklyn Nets Debut The Beard denounces any uncertainty with an explosive first … According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne. “We’re just not good enough,” Harden said Tuesday after the Rockets’ 117-100 loss to the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. James Harden profile page, biographical information, injury history and news Houston will have the right to swap first-round picks with the Nets in the 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027 drafts. Then came the ill-fated deal with Boston in 2013 for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry, who were past their primes. James Harden is back in the MVP race. Amid increasingly loud criticism of his commitment to the team and his conditioning, he averaged a lackluster 17.4 points on 37.8 percent shooting from the field in Houston’s last five games, four of them losses. But the Nets had to fend off strong competition from the Philadelphia 76ers, who were also pursuing a trade with Houston. It's a potential NBA Finals preview on Tuesday night when the Clippers visit the Nets. After Tuesday's loss to the Lakers, Harden addressed his current situation in Houston, calling it "crazy. It was supposed to transform the Nets into finals contenders after their move, combining Pierce and Garnett with Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez and Deron Williams. March 3, 2021 10:00 pm. Conley will make his first career All-Star appearance in his 14th NBA season. Northern Iowa withdrew from the matchup due to a COVID-19 issue with the program. Seeing him in a Nets jersey will be the latest sign of changing times for a hoard of NBA fans. James Harden is listed available to make his Brooklyn Nets debut tonight against the Magic. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, Brooklyn Nets Acquire James Harden in Blockbuster Trade. The Sixers had been trying to acquire Harden in trade packages built around the All-Star guard Ben Simmons, according to two people familiar with the discussions who were not authorized to discuss them publicly. The Nets also have a 6-3 record when Harden plays without Durant but on the flip side, the Nets are 5-5 when Durant plays without Harden. Yet neither the potential pitfalls of bringing in Harden, nor the steep cost in draft picks, dissuaded the Nets. “I can’t comment on the rumors, but we know this is a star’s league,” Nets Coach Steve Nash said Wednesday before his team played the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The men's basketball program was issued four Level 1 charges, which carry a minimum of one to two year postseason ban. Will James Harden Play Tonight? By Vincent Frank. The Nets, widely billed as an Eastern Conference title contender, were off to a bumpy 6-6 start before the deal. As part of the multi-team trade, the Rockets received Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, three Nets first rounders ('22, '24, '26), one Bucks unprotected first round pick in 2022 and four Nets pick swaps in ('21, '23, '25, '27), according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. Sure, Jaylen Brown was a nice player, but James Harden was James Harden. He’s led the team in assists in each of his eight games for the team. Harden won three scoring titles and the 2017-18 Most Valuable Player Award in Houston and led the team to the Western Conference finals twice in his first eight seasons there. James Harden is … Kansas announced they've placed head football coach Les Miles on administrative leave and will conduct its own investigation. The Rockets will receive Cleveland’s Dante Exum and the Nets’ Rodions Kurucs in addition to three first-round picks from the Nets (2022, 2024 and 2026) and a 2022 first-round pick from Cleveland (via Milwaukee). James Harden will play for Brooklyn. The Nets pulled LeVert, Allen, Prince and Kurucs out of their game against the Knicks in anticipation of the trade. Michael Corvo; March 2, 2021 . They lost their second game in a row against the Wizards and now have an overall record of 13 wins and 9 losses. This matchup between … All Rights Reserved. 4 min read. $1 … By SportsLine Staff @ SportsLine Updated: Feb 02, 2021 3:51PM UTC. The Nets will embark on an ambitious attempt to blend three high-scoring stars together after they agreed Wednesday to acquire the All-Star guard James Harden from the Houston Rockets in a four-team trade — just one day after a disgruntled Harden publicly described the Rockets as “not good enough.”. The three-time NBA scoring champion became available to play earlier in the day after all the players in the blockbuster trade that sent him from Houston to Brooklyn completed their physicals. According to The New York Times, Sixers rookie guard Tyrese Maxey would also be headlined in a possible deal. The Nets will embark on an ambitious attempt to blend three high-scoring stars together after they agreed Wednesday to acquire the All-Star guard James Harden from the … The Nets and Rockets agreed to a landscape-altering trade for the NBA, as James Harden will join Kevin Durant in Brooklyn. The Pacers received Caris LeVert and a second-round pick and the Cavaliers received Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince. Morey and Mike D’Antoni, who was Houston’s head coach last season and is now a Nets assistant coach, left the Rockets after the season. FOX Sports' Nick Wright also reported the Nets were prepared to offer anyone that Houston wanted aside from star forward Kevin Durant in exchange for Harden. The Los Angeles Clippers are in a … SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. Harden, 31, had only grown more distant under the first-year head coach Stephen Silas in the wake of all those changes. Harden … A month later, things have shifted drastically. Sunday will mark the first time the Brooklyn Nets’ starting lineup has not featured James Harden since the team acquired the star guard in exchange for Caris LeVert, Rodions Kurucs, Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince and a bevy of picks and pick swaps. James Harden, an eight-time All-Star, had made it clear that he wanted out of Houston. The NBA announced Tuesday that James Harden has been named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for the month of February. © 2021 ABG-SI LLC. Just a handful of games into his coaching career, Nash will soon have the luxury — but also the immense challenge — of overseeing a roster headlined by Durant, Harden and Kyrie Irving. Brooklyn Nets vs Houston Rockets: Injury Updates, Lineup and Game Predictions. Nets coach Steve Nash immediately put Harden into the starting lineup. Though that deal didn’t cost the Nets foundational pieces or many draft picks, and Carter played well, New Jersey only won two playoff series with Carter. Sean Marks, hired as the Nets’ general manager in 2016, has assembled the most talented trio of N.B.A. Yet he was ordered away from the team Wednesday and told not to come to practice in the hours before the trade after blasting the quality of Houston’s roster. Harden had been seeking a trade since November, reported a week late to the Rockets’ training camp and — in a nod to his friendship with Durant after three years playing together in Oklahoma City — had the Nets at the top of his list of preferred destinations. ESPN first reported the agreement between the Rockets and the Nets; The Athletic first reported Indiana’s involvement in the trade. With his 34 points against the Bucks, Harden became the first player to ever score 30-plus points in each of his first two games as a Net. Harden posted shooting splits of .494/.429/.843 while leading the Nets to a 9-4 record. players since the Durant-era Golden State Warriors or the LeBron James-era Miami Heat. "I literally have done everything that I can. Nineteen turnovers Saturday led to 32 points for the Mavericks and caused the Nets to … As The Athletic's Sam Amick and Shams Charania reported earlier Wednesday. If the Harden deal goes as poorly, it will be worse. However, Philadelphia's head of basketball operations Daryl Morey told The Athletic in mid-December that "[Simmons] is an important part of our future. Boston added future stars like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown; Pierce left the Nets after one season, and Garnett was traded in his second. The uncertainty surrounding Irving, who hasn’t played since Jan. 5 for personal reasons, made the Nets even more eager to find a workable trade for Harden and bolster their top-end talent, according to one of the people. It’s something that I don’t think can be fixed.”. The deal brings Oladipo, a former All-Star, to Houston in the final year of his contract, but also replenishes some of the draft assets lost when Houston traded Chris Paul to Oklahoma City for Russell Westbrook in July 2019. By. There will be questions about the offensive fit when Harden arrives in Brooklyn and Irving returns to the lineup. Yashima Bhatia . SUBSCRIBE NOW. But the Nets will be better insulated against a star player’s injury or absence and, perhaps more crucially, they will have swung a deal for a player Durant wanted to play with again. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne, Houston's talks with the Sixers and Nets had gathered momentum in recent days. That could mean easier looks for everyone as defenses scramble, but what made Harden successful in recent years was having the ball in his hands full time and breaking defenses down through isolations. Advertisement. James Harden made his return to Houston on Wednesday for the first time since the Rockets traded their franchise player to the Brooklyn Nets, earning a … James Harden led the Brooklyn Nets to an improbable comeback win over the Phoenix Suns, with both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving out of the lineup. The four-team deal will reunite Harden with Kevin Durant, whom he played with on the Oklahoma City Thunder. November 29, 2020 James Harden, the Brooklyn Nets, and the Houston Rockets figure into this: When Kevin Durant went to the Golden State Warriors in … Brooklyn Nets vs Los Angeles Clippers: Injury Update, Lineup and Game Prediction. Catch up on all the latest news and rumors around the NFL. Houston also traded Westbrook to Washington for John Wall after Harden and Westbrook had played together for just one season. Earlier Wednesday, there were reports of Harden being dealt to the Nets or the 76ers. Even so, the Harden trade gives the Nets three elite scorers and playmakers no team can match. Harden is averaging 24.3 points, 11.8 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game since joining the Nets earlier this month. But for a player at his skill level, it shouldn’t be hard to put in a couple of minutes as a cursory appearance. James Harden has put up some big numbers in his first two games as a Brooklyn Net, eclipsing the 30-point and 10-assist mark in the 122-115 win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday and in the 125-123 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.