NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 01: James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets looks to drive past Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets during the first half of their game at Barclays Center on November 01, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
It is believed in some NBA circles that in order for James Harden to be moved from the Houston Rockets to the Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie Irving or Kevin Durant would have to be shipped to Houston.
Appearing on the Heavy Live With Scoop B Show, Kendrick Perkins told me he’d trade Kyrie Irving “in a heartbeat” if it meant acquiring Harden from Houston.
“If I’m Brooklyn, and I’m looking to do what’s best for this Brooklyn team, and I’m looking to get better… Hell yeah, I’d trade Kyrie for James Harden in a heartbeat,” Perkins told me.
“I don’t even think about that.”
Perkins shared that Durant wouldn’t be going anywhere. Harden also shared that such a bold move of offering Irving for Harden would have to be run by Kevin Durant first before pulling the trigger.
Durant and Irving are close friends, which is why the duo chose to signe with the Brooklyn Nets.
One source shared with me a few weeks ago that the thought of shipping Irving to Houston didn’t seem likely. “Kinda crazy,” I was told.
James Harden and Kevin Durant are also friends..
They were teammates in Oklahoma City before the Thunder opted to trade him to Houston in 2012.
As I reported last month and it was confirmed today by The Athletic, the Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and the Milwaukee Bucks are preferred destinations for Harden.
James Harden trade could come soon, I’m hearing.
Nets, Sixers, Bucks are frontrunners.
So are the Miami Heat.
James Harden averaged 34.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.8 steals for Houston last season. “He has worked hard every time he suited up for his job giving 210,” Harden’s mom, Monja Willis recently said via Instagram.
“He asked for a chance to get a ring that’s it. Anyone in their right mind in this business would want that. So if he lost you as a fan, you weren’t the right fan from the start. Blessings to you son.”
Irving enters his tenth year in the league.
A six-time NBA All-Star, Irving was the NBA’s Rookie of the Year in 2012, an NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player in 2014 and he won an NBA Championship with LeBron James, Kevin Love and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.
After the Cavs’ Championship run, Irving was traded to the Boston Celtics where he put up solid stats. Injuries and chemistry became a problem and Irving signed with the Brooklyn Nets last offseason.
A Duke University product and West Orange, NJ native, Irving appeared in 20 games last season for the Nets.
Irving averaged 27.4 points, 6.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game. Irving had season-ending surgery on a nagging shoulder impingement.
Now healthy, Irving and Nets teammates, Kevin Durant, Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, Joe Harris, Wilson Chandler, Landry Shamet and Jarrett Allen are competing in a deep NBA Eastern Conference under first year head coach, Steve Nash.
While the Nets look good on paper, other Eastern Conference teams like the Philadelphia 76ers have upgraded and the Jimmy Butler-led Miami Heat are still the NBA’s reigning Eastern Conference Champion. Out west, the Los Angeles Lakers are the reigning NBA Champions behind the heroics of All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers are also viable threats out West.
The NBA’s preseason begins later this week and the NBA’s 2020-21 regular season jumpstarts on December 22.