One of the hottest names leading up to the 2022 NBA trade deadline is James Harden. Harden is set for free agency after the season, and there’s some speculation that he might be interested in continuing his career somewhere other than Brooklyn. If the Nets thought that they were going to lose Harden for nothing over the offseason, they would be almost obligated to at least listen to trade offers for the former MVP, right?
Given this backdrop, there has been no shortage of rumors and reports regarding Harden’s future, which is unsurprising given his star status, but it can be tough to keep track of them all. Worry not, we’re here to help. Below is a chronological list of all the most pertinent Harden-related news that will be continually updated as we get closer and closer to the deadline.
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Steve Nash says Nets won’t trade Harden before deadline
Feb. 7 — If the Nets plan to trade Harden before the deadline, Steve Nash certainly doesn’t know about it — or he has a really good poker face. While speaking to media members in Denver on Sunday night, Nash insisted that the Nets don’t plan to trade Harden.
“I’ve talked to James; he wants to be here,” Nash said of the situation. “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].”
The final decision won’t be up to Nash obviously, but he certainly doesn’t sound like a coach that expects to lose one of his key contributors.
76ers won’t include Maxey in any Harden deal; Green more likely
Feb. 7 — The Sixers are obviously interested in Harden, but they won’t be doing everything within their power to land him. The Sixers won’t include standout second-year guard Tyrese Maxey in any potential deal for Harden, a league source told CBS Sports. The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor reiterated that stance and added that it was far likelier that Philadelphia sends Brooklyn an older player like veteran swingman Danny Green in a Harden deal.
76ers, Nets plan to discuss a Simmons-for-Harden deal
Feb. 4 — Conflicting reports emerge leading up to the deadline every single season, so it wasn’t super surprising that a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic surfaced that said that the Nets and 76ers would discuss a potential Harden-for-Simmons swap just days after it was reported that the Nets wouldn’t listen to any offers for Harden. The report from Charania suggests that the Nets would want other assets from Philadelphia in order to get a deal done.
Nets won’t listen to trade offers for Harden leading up to deadline
Jan. 27 — Despite the uncertainty regarding Harden’s future in Brooklyn, the Nets don’t plan to listen to any outside offers for Harden leading up to the deadline, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. There was some speculation that the Nets could look to trade Harden, as opposed to losing him and getting nothing in return should he sign elsewhere in free agency over the offseason, but that appears as though it won’t be the case.
Harden interested in exploring all options in free agency
Jan. 25 — The questions surrounding Harden’s long-term future in Brooklyn can be traced be to last offseason when he failed to agree to an extension with an organization, but the noise really started to get loud in January thanks to a report from Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer that suggested the former league MVP is at least interested in exploring other options outside of the Nets when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer. Harden has never been a free agent before, so it’s understandable that he’s interested in experiencing the process.