“You never know what somebody might be willing to offer you for James Harden” - Stephen A. Smith believes the Brooklyn Nets should entertain all conversations regarding a James Harden trade
James Harden remains one of the best and most sought-after players in the league. Many franchises want to secure his signature on a deal. But a move away from the Brooklyn Nets might be too much of a request at this time.
The Nets-Harden union looks like one that won't be ending soon. In this trade window, the Brooklyn front office has shut its doors to any interest for the point guard as they look to keep him. His role with the team cannot be overemphasized as he leads the Nets in free throws, rebounds, assists and steals.
Their stance on a possible Harden trade has been met with a sour taste in the mouths of a few, including ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith.
On "First Take," Smith reacted to an Adrian Wojnarowski story about the Nets not entertaining any trade deadline talks for Harden. Smith said Brooklyn's approach was a mistake, as the Nets could lose out if Harden opts out of his contract in the offseason. That would leave Brooklyn with no revenue being generated from him leaving as a free agent.
ESPN Sources: The Brooklyn Nets won’t listen to trade deadline overtures for James Harden, a resolve largely rooted in the All-NBA guard’s repeated insistences to ownership and management that he’s committed to the franchise: es.pn/3G8jvhQ
"I think that's a mistake, he's averaging 23, 10 and 8. 2, 42% from the field, 33% from 3-point range, those numbers are down," Smith said. "We understand what difficulty he's had to work with because Kyrie is there part-time, KD is injured etcetera, etcetera.
"I think it's safe to say that Brooklyn is not all it was cracked up to be in James Harden's mind right now. He's making 44 million this year, has a player option to make 47 million next year. He may opt out to go elsewhere, and if he chooses to do that, you could end up getting nothing. Not to say that's gonna happen but you could.
"Why would you take that chance when he still has so much value?
"What you do is you listen to everything, you don't move him necessarily but you listen to everything. You don't just not take phone calls and you're not listening and you're not entertaining anything. When you've such a tremendous asset who may not want to be there come summertime, you keep him for this season.
"But I think you take all phone calls, 'cause you never what somebody might be willing to offer you for James Harden."
How has James Harden fared this season?
James Harden has been the Brooklyn Nets' backbone, with Kyrie Irving absent most of the season and Kevin Durant sidelined with a recent knee injury. He has shown his reliability with his consistent performances.
James Harden notched his fourth 30-point triple-double this season, the most in the NBA 🔥 https://t.co/YczYwHUIDs
In his last three outings, he had two triple-doubles, posting 30-plus points both times. He currently averages 23.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and a league-leading 10.1 assists per game. "The Beard" has the fifth-most double-doubles (28) and third-most triple-doubles (nine) in the league.
His season-high of 39 points came in wins against the New Orleans Pelicans and LA Clippers. He shot better than 60% in both outings.