DENVER — With absolute language, Steve Nash tried to squash the idea of trading James Harden.
The Nets coach, faced with an ugly losing streak and rumors swirling about Harden’s desire to relocate to the Sixers, said his All-Star guard has not waned from his commitment to Brooklyn.
“I’ve talked to James and he wants to be here,” Nash said. “And he wants to be here long term as well.”
Then asked if that means the Nets are not dealing Harden, the coach said, simply, “Yes.”
Of course, Nash wouldn’t be the first NBA employee to declare a player is off the market, only to see that same player traded in short order. But Nash seemed to carry the message with conviction, and he backed it up with the organization’s conversations with Harden.
“This has been a constant thing since the summer,” Nash said. “He’s continually reiterated that he wants to be here, and we’ve continually said that we want him here and that that’s our best chance to win. So nothing’s changed.”
For the Nets, dealing Harden never made much sense. They’re deep into their win-now window, and Harden, despite his struggles, poor body language and injuries, gives Kevin Durant a better opportunity for a title than anybody on the Sixers after Joel Embiid.
“We think when he’s healthy and Kevin’s healthy and Kyrie plays, our team is a totally different team,” Nash said before Sunday’s tipoff against the Nuggets. “And we’re excited by it.”
Still, it’s no secret Harden has strong ties to the Sixers organization, specifically Embiid, team president Daryl Morey and minority owner Michael Rubin. Harden will become an unrestricted free agent after the season, which gives him a little leverage if he demands a trade.
But the Sixers don’t have the cap space to sign Harden, and would require the Nets to play along and accept Ben Simmons in a sign-and-trade if this drags into the summer. Sixers coach Doc Rivers was also skeptical of acquiring Harden, insinuating Sunday that the reports were generated by Simmons’ representation.
“Why would I ever comment on that stuff?” Rivers told reporters. “It’s so silly.”
Harden, meanwhile, missed his second straight game Sunday with hamstring tightness. The 32-year-old’s absence fed into a theory that he’s holding out until the Nets acquiesce to his trade demand. But Nash insisted it was a legit injury requiring a cautious approach since Harden’s hamstring cost him over a month of games and sabotaged his playoffs.
“The scan is pretty good but there’s a strain — there’s a tightness, sorry, not a strain — there’s a tightness and a strength deficit. So, for us, we just don’t want to take any chances. We know last year we lost him for an extended period and we want to be conservative and make sure he resumes full strength so there isn’t an extended absence.”
