James Harden has big reunions on his mind with top trade destination

As James Harden ponders a future elsewhere, he has reunions on his mind with his reported top trade destination.

Depending on the day lately, Russell Westbrook or James Harden trade rumors are the most prominent as the NBA offseason nears getting going in earnest. Late Saturday it was Harden. Farbod Esnaashari of Sports Illustrated put one team prominent in the conversation, with mention of the return the Houston Rockets would get in a trade.

On Sunday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Ramona Shelbourne and Zach Lowe reported that team as Harden’s top trade destination.

The Brooklyn Nets.

James Harden wants to reunite, but will it feel good?

As Wojnarowski cited, Harden would be reuniting with Kevin Durant in Brooklyn. The two were teammates with the Oklahoma City Thunder for three seasons, before Harden was traded to the Rockets. As Harden neared the time he would demand a big contract, the Thunder essentially didn’t want to pay him to continue to be the sixth-man and a third wheel behind Durant and Westbrook.

Not that those guys are without flaw as teammates, but Harden is starting to leave a trail of discontent from Dwight Howard to Chris Paul and now possibly Westbrook as both their names get bounced about in trade rumors. With Durant and Kyrie Irving in place as the centerpiece stars in Brooklyn, Harden would be a third wheel again or push one of them out of way to be more. “There’s only one basketball” fits the situation, or any situation where Harden has a co-star on his level, perfectly.

But there’s a second element that can’t be ignored in Harden’s apparent placement of Brooklyn atop his list of preferred trade destinations.

Mike D’Antoni could have probably had another head coaching job if he wanted after parting ways with the Rockets. But he instead became an assistant on the new staff of his former point guard Steve Nash. Nash is entering his first season as head coach of the Nets.

The Rockets may not want to engage teams much on Harden or Westbrook, and the markets for both are automatically narrow. But Wojnarowski’s follow-up about them wanting to “run it back” makes no mention of Westbrook.

The idea of reuniting with Durant (and presumably D’Antoni), while also sharing a backcourt with Irving, is “resonating” with Harden. What could possibly go wrong?