Up to now, affected by the knee injury, Durant has missed 9 consecutive games, during which the Nets have only achieved a 2-7 record, the team's regular season ranking is also plummeting, directly out of the first echelon of the East, currently 29 wins and 22 losses in the East, it is no exaggeration to say that if this trend continues to worsen, the Nets are likely to fall into the playoff range in a short period of time. It is worth mentioning that in addition to the intuitive impact on the team's record, Durant's injury has brought a series of chain reactions, the most difficult of which is Harden's physical condition.
Friends who have long followed the Nets should know that Harden has not completely come out of the hamstring injury, and so far this season, whether it is a breakthrough or a retreat to pull out three points, it can be clearly felt that Harden is far from his peak. In fact, the Nets coaching staff and the team doctor team should have developed a long-term recovery plan to help Harden return to the top as soon as possible, but with Durant's sudden injury, Irving became a "part-time player", the game has been stopped, resulting in a lot of pressure on Harden's shoulders invisibly surge a lot, Nash may also be forced to helpless, had to let Harden's body into an overloaded state.
According to statistics, Harden's average playing time (37 minutes) this season has set a new high in the last 6 seasons, and even if there was a strain on his right hand at the end of last month, Harden only missed 2 games. Just mentioned, although the career is called "Iron Man", but Harden is 32 years old after all, such a high load of playing time is indeed a bit overwhelming him, coupled with the impact of hamstrings and hand injuries, causing Harden to seem to enter a vicious circle, the Nets Big Three one injured, an intermittent play, and then all the problems that appeared in the team are counting on Harden to solve, so the physical state is getting worse and worse, the latest game against the Kings, Harden contributed 4 points in a single game, seemingly unexpected, in fact, inevitable.
Is Harden's spring coming? The 2-for-3 trading scheme is expected to land, and Irving's cronies have been cleared up in advance. Although I don't want to admit it, Harden is indeed in the winter of his career at this stage, but fortunately, the Nets management is always looking for a solution to the problem. Sources from NBA reporter Joe Walden, all indications are that the Nets have completely lost patience with Irving, under the premise that the relevant regulations (vaccination to participate in the Nets home game) can not be changed, including nets general manager Sean Max, a number of executives agree that Irving need to be sent away before the end of this season's trade, because only in this way can harden play more easily and effectively reduce the risk of the latter being injured again.
From the follow-up report of NBA reporter Jackson Anderson, it is known that the Nets and the Kings have reached a preliminary consensus on a deal plan discussed, and the 2-for-3 plan is expected to finally land, and the negotiating chips between the two sides are that the Nets provide Irving + Harris (there is a risk of reimbursement this season), trying to get Barnes + Hield + Holmes from the Kings. It is reported that in order to improve the flexibility of the team's future operation, the Nets also hope that the Kings will take 1-2 draft picks, and many NBA people predict that the Kings will most likely provide 2 second-round picks/1 protected first-round pick. It's important to note that while it's impossible to tell if the Kings are willing to continue to add weight, one thing is certain that the Nets are determined to send Irving away.
There are multiple sources that show that Max is preparing for a big deal, and 2 of the Nets' internal staff who may have objections have been cleared, they are Robin Pound and Eli Carter, both of whom are Irving's cronies, equivalent to the Nets joining the Nets in a 3-person group that year, so this move is enough to see Max's determination to trade Irving. Finally, Barnes + Hield + Holmes are all high-quality players with strong finishing ability, very suitable for playing next to Harden, the big core of the ball, if the 2-for-3 deal is successfully reached, then Harden is expected to return to the Rockets 2.0 period (Mike Anthony). Do you think the Nets should trade Irving, and will Harden usher in the spring of his career? Welcome to leave a comment in the comments section below to discuss, thank you for reading and following.