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Though their time as teammates with the Brooklyn Nets is over, Kevin Durant and Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden are reportedly back on good terms.
appearing in NBA todayESPN’s Ramona Shelburne suggested there were no hard feelings between KD and Harden last season, even though Harden was essentially forced to leave Brooklyn:
clutch point @clutch point app
“From what I’ve heard, two former teammates are now back on good terms. [James] Harden was forced out of Brooklyn.”@ramonashelburne Sixers reportedly interested in trade Kevin Durantpic.twitter.com/RI9dUP9Noq
Shelburne points out that Durant and Harden were recently together backstage at a Travis Scott concert in London, indicating that any potential issues have been fixed.
News that Durant and Harden are on the same page comes after SNY Ian Begley .
Begley added that Durant sees Philadelphia as a “welcome landing spot.”
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (h/t ESPN’s Tim Bontemps) reported that Durant’s business manager, Rich Kleiman, said KD requested a trade out from Brooklyn and the Nets agreed to work with him to find a trade.
At the time, Wojnarowski noted that the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat were Durant’s two preferred trade destinations.
For some reason, nothing has worked out on those fronts yet, and there has been no movement regarding Durant’s trade market.
Matching the Indiana Pacers’ offer sheet for center DeAndre Ayton, the Suns may have thrown a wrench into plans to trade Durant, as Ayton could have been the centerpiece of that deal and won’t be traded until the end of the season. There is a nature.
The Heat, on the other hand, are probably reluctant to spoil their depth or trade key players like Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro.
The Sixers will almost certainly have to let go of a rising guard named Tyrese Maxie to acquire Durant, but having a superstar triumvirate of Durant, Harden and Joel Embiid takes just as much. It might be worth it.
Brooklyn’s attempt against the Big 3 of Durant, Harden and Kyrie Irving didn’t go as well as expected. The Nets were knocked out in the second round of his 2021 playoffs and traded Harden to the 76ers during the 2021-22 season before losing to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
A Durant trade would be worth the risk for the Sixers. That’s because they haven’t made it past the second round of the playoffs despite reaching the postseason in each of their last five seasons.
Durant, a two-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Finals MVP, is the all-time leading player, and is finishing a season averaging 29.9 points per game at age 33.
Adding him to the reigning MVP runner-up at Embiid, a multi-year All-Star and a one-time NBA MVP at Harden, makes the 76ers arguably the most feared team in the Eastern Conference, and a force that can be considered hopefully at playoff time. will be stay healthy.
