The four-team deal that brought James Harden to Brooklyn is now official, and Nets coach Steve Nash put him in the starting lineup right away, writes Malika Andrews of ESPN. Harden hasn’t been able to practice with his new team, but he was on the court for today’s game against the Magic.
“I think everyone’s excited,” Nash said. “We welcome one of the best players in the game to our team, so the mood is great. This is a moving target that we have to try to incorporate him as we go here and learn on the fly, adapt and try to jell.”
Nash doesn’t expect much of a learning curve for Harden, who is among the most gifted offensive players in the league. Harden won’t be on a minutes restriction, but Nash plans a “see as we go” philosophy on how much to play him.
“(He is) more or less a full go,” Nash added. “But we don’t want to run the batteries down on our new Christmas present this early.”
There’s more from Brooklyn:
- Completion of the deal means the Nets’ new Big Three is almost together. Kyrie Irving is missing another game today due to health and safety protocols, Andrews tweets, and his return may be a few days away. Nash wants Irving to go through a few workouts before returning to the lineup (Twitter link).
- Nicolas Claxton could be ready next month, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The second-year center has been sidelined with tendinopathy in his right knee. “I think Nic is probably closer to the midseason break than he is to now,” Nash said. “Sometime in February for sure. But no setbacks, just working through it.” (Twitter link)
- An article on NetsDaily examines some of the options for filling the team’s three open roster spots. The Nets expect to have point guards Jeremiah Martin and Elie Okobo on the roster of their G League affiliate in Long Island, and both have NBA experience. Shooting guard Kaiser Gates and center Tariq Owens, a pair of G League veterans, are two other possibilities. Some other names to consider are Michael Beasley and Jamal Crawford, who both signed with Brooklyn before the summer restart, along with Andre Roberson, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Dewayne Dedmon.
Rumors
76ers offer this package for Harden
And waiting for counteroffer
Simmons
Thybulle
2021 top 4 protected First
2023 top 4 protected First
According to 76ers reporter
Rockets are using 76ers deal to get a better offer from Nets
Rockets did not call back
Rockets think that Morey initial offer is cheap
It’s over bro move on. Time to see what other teams do now.
sillyman sillyman… smh… that was never the offer, 76ers was not giving them Thybulle.
Rumor:
Harden is still fat
We all know this could blow up for Nets. NYC media is going to love this mix of talent and personalities. All three are at end of their careers. So you would think they all want this to work. Better to stay unified by that in NY. Cause it can go the other way real quick. Not a fan of any of them. But I respect all their games except Harden. He’s the biggest diva to me who doesn’t even play D. The reasons big three worked in Miami. Cause they shared the ball and wanted only to win. They all played both ways. And they really didn’t have competition in the East. Won’t be that way for Nets. So buckle up and get ready. They could have a 3-4 yr run. Or they could all be running away at end of year.
What’s your favorite flavor of that Hater-ade you sippin’ on?
Luckily for Harden, everyone there already hates Kyrie.
Kyrie made his name in NY area. He’s 40 mins away from Bklyn no traffic. He’s got plenty fans here. I’m just not one.
think he meant evryone on the nets hate kyrie not nyc
in which case i agree
They’re at the end of their careers? What are you talking about? Irving is 28, KD is 32, Harden is 31. Irving is a wild card but if you think Harden and KD aren’t playing another five years each, you are mistaken.
OK so KD at 32 has what 3 good yrs. And if this goes wrong he’s gone and will have to find another contender. Harden already has killed every relation with contenders so this could be his last shot. 2 yr contract. He has what 4 yrs maybe. If he doesn’t eat his way out the league. Kyrie at 28 has a few extra yrs. But by now he’s already turned off half the teams in NBA. So how many contenders really will take a chance on him in 3 yrs. So yeah, I’d say they are closer to the end. And the end could come sooner than they and you think. All athletes age differently especially ones with serious injuries. You think at best a 3 yr run is young guns blazing. It could take this whole yr to find their swagger. Or could blow up. I’d say a 3 yr window is at the end of their careers. My opinion is they won’t reach finals this yr. So what will happen then. This is a yr by yr experience. Nets are taking a big gamble.
Its actually pretty insane how good KD has been so far, coming off the achilles. Only comparable person I can think of is Dominique, but even he was a little different, and also only lasted a couple of more years…Not sure how this will effect him moving forward, but if he can stay relatively healthy, I think there is no reason to think he couldnt play at least at a high level for another 5 years, with the way he is playing right now being so elite, and honestly, the style he generally plays offensively being relatively sustainable
Basketball is a 2way sport. We all age differently. Not saying he won’t be good at 35. Only he’s at the last 3-4 good yrs oh his career. Very few athletes play as well in mid 30s and up in NBA. Not everyone is Bron. And certainly this window is only for 3-4 yrs. If they make it work. 32 is closer to end of career IMO. You should always take it yr by yr. Especially with divas. One thing I know is winning cures everything. Like I said Nets are taking a big gamble. They need to get bench help now. And team chemistry is the work in progress now.
Nets need a center that can play good defense. DeAndre looks terrible. He’s only 32 years old. I hope he gets his game back. Reggie Perry (the number 57 pick in the draft this year) played better for the Nets than DeAndre tonight. Jeff Green looks like an excellent back-up small ball center…so the Nets can play small for 20 to 25 minutes a night. But the Nets need somebody who can slow down Anthony Davis and challenge Kahwi/George/Giannis/Tatum/Butler at the rim. I hope Claxton is good.
I always wonder why theres so little interest in Jeff Green
Hes a wherever/whenever/however type of player whatever team hes on
I think it’s holdover hate from when ppl thought Green was gonna be an all star and ended up underachieving in that sense at least
9 teams in 6 years, so there’s more than holdover from BOS & OKC. 11 total in 12 years says Bas.Ref.
As he gets older he might be more willing though to play C.
They also need someone who can play D on the wings
Who’s guarding LeBron on this team? Tatum and Brown? Giannis? Butler? The list goes on. KD can’t guard all of them
Last night DeAndre looked as good as he needs to look. Maybe he heard the criticism? Maybe they’ve been letting him cruise a bit. For the regular season, I have no problem with that. Good to see he still has it. The Nets are now talented enough to pretty well cruise to a top 4 seed in the east. Still, I think they should sign another defensive center for depth and to eat regular season minutes. And if they can acquire another good 3 and d wing, well no team can have enough of those.
Harden-KD tandem looks good so far in today’s win vs orlando. But, orlando is orlando, until they faced good teams such as lakers, bucks, sixers, or clippers, we would not have the slightest of idea on how is their offensive capabiltities gonna carry vs those teams.
A triple double is a good start. Harden
Looks out of shape. Good sign is he was looking to share ball with KD. You need to share with team. Harden has to get in shape and play with everyone for the yr. Give it 30 gms at least with full team. This Harden will get run out of court. Especially in playoffs. He’s 25-30 LBs overweight easy. If he’s still like this after 20 gms. It’s going to get ugly.
Steve Nash writes out his lineups like a 6 year old child
Well, well, well… Harden becomes the first ever player to debut with a team delivering a 30 point treble-double… not bad at all, right?
Talent is really unstoppable… unfortunately so is the hate “so called” fans feel for the talented ones! SMH!
dude had 9 turnovers and shot 13 fts in the 2nd half. Also, nobody is questioning their offense too much, but it is questionable that they gave up so much to Orlando, without any of their guards, and multiple defenders out for them
Kevin Durant was amazing, and has been incredible this year. The way they’re using him actually makes him even more important than you would even think, as he has been seeing time at the 5, and he is usually on an island by himself as their only defender on the floor. So far, he has been arguably as good, if not better than he has ever been, which is saying a lot. He is putting up comparable numbers to his first year in GS…He played 40+ minutes. I’m not so sure its a good idea to put so much on him, coming off his achilles injury, so that will be something to watch for moving forward
RHJ or MKG, Noah Vonleh, Jeremiah Martin all make sense for those 3 roster spots, as I mentioned after the trade…I could also see someone like a Kyle Korver as a depth piece for that last spot
Nets should sign Dedmon… Harden & KD looked they they haven’t missed a beat. It’s as though those OKC days were yesterday…. When Kyrie comes back however… Woosah!!!!
I said this yeasterday but got edited out, probably by apparently using the “1ib” word if Lord Banana’s reply was correct…
OMI Irving was holding out to get the inevitable Harden trade done & dusted. One of GM Marks’ incentives was that Irving was being coy, so he needed to get better coverage than flinty Levert and with Dins out. Harden is steady.
KI wanted Harden and worked out with him in the offseason developing strategy & plays.
Now that KI got what KI wanted, he wants back. So much for those social justice issues.
Interesting to see what he claims.
I have not heard anyone in the media claim this, but I haven’t looked either.