James Harden's reported wish to be traded to the Brooklyn Nets appears to be fueled in part by a desire to rejoin forces with Kevin Durant.

Harden and Durant were teammates with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the early 2010s, and Kelly Iko and David Aldridge of The Athletic reported “The Beard” still looks back on those days quite favorably.

There are obvious ties to both Brooklyn and Philadelphia. Harden loved the years he spent with Durant and the Thunder early on in his career, constantly being called the glue that held the team together, according to a source close to Harden. During the Rockets’ 2018 trip to the Bahamas prior to training camp, Harden would watch hours of old Thunder games in his room.

Of course, the Thunder broke up their own trio–which also included Russell Westbrook–when they unceremoniously traded Harden to Houston rather than offer him an extension.

But with Durant and former Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni both in Brooklyn, Harden would have plenty of familiarity with team personnel in the event he is traded to the Nets.

Can Brooklyn get a deal done? Chris Broussard of FOX Sports suggested Durant wants to play with Harden again, though he said Kyrie Irving remains hesitant.

It is somewhat straightforward to see why Kyrie would have some reservations.

Durant has no problem playing off the ball, which allows Irving to orchestrate the offense and have the rock in his hands quite often. But Irving's usage could see a rapid decline if the Nets trade for Harden, who is another ball-dominant star.

That said, Iko and Aldridge suggested Harden actually desires a situation where he would not be required to be as much of a ball-handler. Perhaps an Irving-Harden backcourt can work in that regard.

When all is said and done, however, it seems James Harden's wish to play with the Nets is driven by his fond memories of playing with Kevin Durant.