This season's Nets can be described as ill-fated, after a difficult period of struggle at the beginning of the season, ushered in Irving's "part-time return". However, Irving's return had the opposite effect, and the Nets ushered in a wave of losing streaks, thus losing the first place in the East. The Reason the Nets agreed to let Irving return was to decompress Durant and Harden, but Durant still suffered a knee sprain after Irving's return, so the injury was suspended for a month. In the last game, Harden also suffered from hamstring tension, and the Nets' injury situation was not optimistic. At this time, the question of Harden's contract extension once again attracted the attention of various teams, and the Nets' locker room stability was once again challenged, and Harden responded quickly to this.
According to the Nets reporter, Harden has informed the Nets management that he wants to stay with the Nets and play with Durant and Irving. The Nets then announced that they would not consider any trade offers regarding James Harden. Harden voluntarily made a promise to renew his contract, which stabilized the Nets' turbulent military spirit, which is crucial for the Nets in poor condition. According to previous reports, Harden does not want to complete the contract extension with the Nets, he does not enjoy life in Brooklyn, and Harden wants to team up with Embiid. As soon as this news came out, it caused a fierce discussion among all parties, the stability of the Nets' locker room was affected to a certain extent, the Nets, a team that has received high media attention, this news is easy to disturb the Nets' locker room, just like the Lakers in 2019, the efforts of the whole season will be in vain.
Previously, Harden's refusal to renew his contract was revealed by the 76ers' reporter, and the credibility of this news was not high, but it still caused heated discussions among reporters on various teams. The 76ers, who have recently been active in the trading market, want to close Simmons' deal before the closing date because their asking price is too high, resulting in a delay in closing the deal. Harden wants to join the 76ers, it is bound to be only through signing first and then changing, then Simmons will become an important chip. The 76ers released the news that Harden is willing to join the 76ers at this time, which is undoubtedly to raise the price of Simmons and make other teams that covet Simmons and are not willing to pay assets anxious. This is the usual trick of 76ers general manager Morey, who really does everything for the benefit of the team.
Harden promised to renew his contract to keep the previous rumors from breaking. Joining the 76ers is not a good thing for Harden, whether it is money or career, the 76ers will not be a better choice. Staying with the Nets, Harden can sign a 5-year, 270 million super contract, and the Nets are currently the team that can offer Harden the largest contract. At the same time, the Nets are also one of harden's best springboards for the championship, Embiid has not yet proved himself in the playoffs, on the contrary, if it were not for the foot of the alphabet brother, perhaps Harden would be on the road to two consecutive championships now. The existing configuration of the 76ers will indeed be more suitable for Harden's personal play, but Harden is no longer obsessed with pursuing personal honors, and the championship is Harden's only goal. However, Harden's promise to renew his contract is also the news released by the Nets, and it is also not hardened himself, perhaps this is also a smoke bomb released by Marcos in order to stabilize the military.
If the Nets are willing to renew Harden's contract for a five-year, $270 million contract, then the Nets have completely determined the direction of development for the next five years - building a team around Harden and Durant. After completing the renewal, both Harden and Durant's contracts will expire in 2027, and the Nets will enjoy the final peak of these two MVP players until they retire. Although Harden and Durant are no longer young, but this is already the Nets' best choice at present, if they do not choose to renew Harden, then the Nets will not be able to keep Durant, once again into a fish belly team, which is not what the Nets want.
If Irving can play full-time, Max doesn't need to worry about Harden's contract extension. So, whether Harden's departure rumors are true or not, if the Nets can fundamentally solve Irving's problem, then the Nets' current problems will not be a problem. Irving's brilliant performance in the comeback may have completely erased the Nets' idea of trading Irving...