James Harden has been the talk of the town of late amid rumors of the Brooklyn Nets superstar being linked to a move away from the Brooklyn Nets. The whispers have been getting a lot louder of late, which leads us all to believe that the Nets parting ways with Harden could become a real possibility as the trade deadline approaches.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski has chimed in on the whole situation and in particular, Woj dropped a truth bomb on Kevin Durant's stance on the possibility of losing Harden just a few months after the team acquired him during the offseason:
“Here's where Durant is on James Harden, I'm told,” Woj said (h/t Talkin' NBA on Twitter). “He believed that they would win, could win multiple titles with Kyrie Irving and James Harden. That's why Kevin Durant pushed so hard to get Brooklyn to make that deal with Houston last year. And he still believes that. But he also believes this very strongly: that Harden, everyone else in Brooklyn is going to have to be as committed to this as he's been.”
Woj went on to say that KD expects everyone on the Nets to be on the same page as him with regard to their level of commitment towards winning a championship. We all know how laser-focused Durant is and his strong play — whenever he's available, at least — serves as a clear testament to this fact.
Can the same be said about Kyrie and Harden, though? Irving is still a part-time player as he continues to remain unvaccinated. Harden's loyalty, on the other hand, has been put to the test amid rumors of his willingness to jump ship.
Be that as it may, Durant reportedly still wants Harden to remain in Brooklyn for the long haul:
“James Harden has told Durant, he has told Nets management that he wants to be there, and they are taking his word for that,” Woj continued. ” … [Durant] absolutely wants to continue with James Harden. Stay the course with him. I think there's still a real good chance that's the case when we get past Thursday in the NBA with that 3 p.m. trade deadline.”
Adrian Wojnarowski is one of the most plugged-in insiders in the NBA and since he's saying here that Harden isn't likely to leave Brooklyn before the trade deadline, we should be inclined to believe him.