With the NBA Trade deadline just under 48 hours away, everyone is waiting with bated breath on any update. While the Brooklyn Nets will look to snap an eight-game losing streak–without any of their Big 3 of Kevin Durant (knee), Kyrie Irving (not vaccinated) or James Harden (hamstring tightness)–we got another update from the team's head coach.

Nash addressed reporters and doubled down on the message he sent to the NBA on Sunday. He does not expect any big shake-ups here. 

But if you believe in many of the most recent rumors, the decision not to trade Harden could prove a costly one in the long run.

On Tuesday before a shorthanded home game versus the suddenly hot Boston Celtics, Coach Nash was asked about the state of his Nets–in many ways the league's most interesting team all season long.

“Our player's character has been high,” said Nash. “We've asked them to stick together, we know we're going through a tough period here, and when you're down a lot of players and you are asking everyone to play outside their comfort zone as far as their responsibilities and all those things in that nature, you have a choice am I gonna be a great teammate and a force for finding solutions, or are we gonna pull apart?”

Now if you hit pause on the tape, that reads like a very clear message to James Harden in particular. Could that have been Nash's intent? Let's just pretend for a moment that's what we're hearing. Considering the context it's not terribly unfair of us to hear it that way.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne reported the following:

“Durant has significant sway with the organization, but he isn't telling Tsai and Marks what they ought to do at the trade deadline, sources said. Durant still wants Harden, sources said, but wants a committed Harden.”

That update came just before Zach Lowe said Harden was frustrated by Brooklyn's lack of spacing.

Last weekend, The Athletic's Alex Schiffer wrote with Sam Amick the following:

“While Harden has thrown hints that he’s not crazy about Irving’s part-time status, a source with knowledge of Harden’s thinking said he’s frustrated in general with his Nets tenure. He came to Brooklyn expecting to be part of a three-headed monster, yet has played a similar role to what was required of him in Houston: having to be the guy.”

Finally, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report noted that Harden has been frustrated with the team's closing lineups.

And if you factor in the broader context, if you isolate that segment of what Nash said, it could sound an awful lot like he's speaking specifically to James Harden's concerns with his fit on the Nets.

It could be heard as a Hall of Fame point guard who was in a similar boat once upon a time, offering a bit of sage advice: you are at a cross roads. You can either make the choice to accept that these struggles are temporary and there will be better times ahead when everyone is healthy. We didn't mean to ask you to play this role we had to because of unforeseen circumstances. That will change. There might even be a world where Irving plays full time on the horizon.

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Or you can “pull apart.” The choice is yours.

But Nash did not stop there. He continued, and softened his message considerably so it applied to everyone on his roster. He even made it clear he likes the choice his team made.

“And our guys have been great. I know the results haven't come but their spirit and energy and willingness, their attentiveness in film sessions, shoot arounds has been outstanding….”

So if you had the takeaway that Nash “was calling his player out,” the counterpoint to that hypothesis is Nash went on to talk about how his players have actually chosen the correct path. They've been great despite some difficult times.

Some high level communication by Nash here, perhaps.

Nash went on to reaffirm that he does not believe Harden (or anyone for that matter) is going anywhere this trade deadline.

“No, honestly, I think we'll be exactly the same [post deadline]. I think the chances of trades or deals happening before the deadline are so slim, especially for our group. So my mind and attention is on this group,” added Nash.

Everything is a leverage play these days. If we see a Harden for Simmons blockbuster before Thursday night, we'll reflect on Nash's wording and hear a coach talking about a fractured situation. His insistence on not expecting a change was simply him assisting his GM in ongoing negotiations. Selling a company line.

But if we don't see a big trade, then we can take this stuff at face value and conclude the Nets truly believe in this unit, they want to see how they look when heathy so badly they're even willing to risk Harden leaving in free agency. That's how much they trust this can work. Harden already arrived at his nexus and he chose Brooklyn.

We'll assign the appropriate narrative when we have the benefit of hindsight. Not a moment before.

With less than 48 hours to go before the deadline, I keep forgetting there's an actual basketball game to be played.