The James Harden farce seems to be coming to an end, with Kevin Durant wanting everyone in the Nets to be as committed to winning the title as he is, and Harden telling Durant and Nets management that he wants to stay with the Nets. All this seems to be coming to a halt. Yeah, staying with the Nets is a really good decision for Harden, and Durant. However, the Nets management may not think so.
The real big deal was silent before, like the Lakers a Horton Tucker throughout the league is nothing more than the whimsy of some Lakers fans, not to mention that the Lakers do not have enough chips, that is, Tucker Jr., and does not let people see the potential to become a cornerstone. So, don't look at Harden and the Nets are loyal to each other, in fact, the big deal is likely to be completed in an instant.
In fact, the current Nets do not have any initiative at all. Harden's current contract is $170 million for 4 years with an early renewal in the 2017 offseason, which runs from the start of the 19-20 season to the end of the 22-23 season, with Harden having player options in the 22-23 season. What does player options mean? Entering the 2022 offseason, Harden has the potential to jump out of his contract, that is, he can have a free body, so he decides to join any team that can provide him with a contract.
Now that the Nets' prospects are uncertain, they definitely do not dare to let Harden jump out of the player option to become a free agent, in case Harden joins other teams in a free body way, the Nets will not want to cry without tears? You know, the Nets originally gave up four first-round and three first-round swaps in order to get Harden, which is equivalent to overdrawing the draft picks for the next seven years. If you witness Harden patting his ass and leaving, the Nets are really a man with two money and two plus a dumb eating yellow lian.
Therefore, now the Nets have two ways to go, one is to reach a contract renewal agreement with Harden, at least to get Harden's contract renewal; the other is to send Harden away in advance and reduce losses as much as possible. The news of the contract extension has not yet appeared, and we can't know, so this first road will not work for the Nets for the time being. Then, the second way is likely to become a backup for the Nets, that is, trading Harden and maximizing the stop loss.
Among the boiling rumors, Philadelphia has the highest voice to get Harden, after all, Ben Simmons and the team have no possibility of continuing to cooperate, and the partnership between Joel Embiid and Harden is also worth looking forward to. But this is often the case with transactions, and the higher the call, the less necessarily it takes shape. Philadelphia's draft picks didn't overdraft too much, and catching up with Simmons and others was a lot of allure for the Nets. However, there is still a question, whether Philadelphia can get Harden's contract extension.
As mentioned earlier, Harden will have player options in the 2022 offseason, and teams that want to get Harden will be the first to think about one question: whether they can successfully renew Harden. In this regard, in fact, we can refer to the original raptors and spurs trade, the raptors through the trade to get Kawhi Leonard, for which they sent DeMar DeRozan and Jacob Pelter and others. In the 18-19 season, Leonard led the Raptors to a championship, but he chose to join the Clippers in the 2019 offseason, which is why the Raptors did not keep Leonard.
The Raptors won the championship, so they bet on Leonard's use of the right to use for a season is very successful, and now the team that wants to get Harden also has such a hidden danger, if they can't keep Harden, they don't dare to send chips in exchange for Harden. Therefore, although the Nets can trade Harden, Harden can definitely secretly control the direction of the transaction, that is, not to give a contract extension, no team will easily shoot.
The question is, is it possible for the Clippers to get Harden? The answer is yes! In terms of draft picks, the Clippers really don't have any advantages at all, and in order to get Paul George, the Clippers overdrawn the draft picks from 2022 to 2026, which means that the only draft picks the Clippers can come up with are 2027 swaps and the first round of 2028. However, don't overlook an operation that the Clippers just made, Norman Powell is in the middle of the game, Robert Covington can improve the team's defensive level, and they can both play good supporting roles, suitable for playing around the giants.
As a result, the Clippers are not very passive, and Sergi Ibaka and others can also join the deal, and the Clippers brewing Harden, George and Leonard's big three are almost not necessarily in preparation. In fact, now harden has most of the initiative, the Nets are relatively passive, if Jerry West staged a stroke of god again, please do not be surprised, after all, the Clippers have enough temptation, Harden is likely to appear "designated home" hints, that way, Harden's return to the West will be highly likely to achieve.
Text/Duncan's laugh