James Harden has been linked with a trade to the Brooklyn Nets where he would join up with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving; Harden reportedly wants to leave the Houston Rockets after eight seasons with the franchise
Wednesday 9 December 2020 21:28, UK
Kevin Durant says he "doesn't think" about James Harden, despite speculation linking his former team-mate with a trade to reunite them on the Brooklyn Nets.
Harden is widely reported to have expressed his desire to depart the Houston Rockets and failed to arrive as expected for pre-season training camp over the weekend, with head coach Stephen Silas saying there was "no timetable" for the former MVP's return.
Durant is preparing to make his Nets debut having missed last season recovering from an Achilles injury after joining Brooklyn from the Golden State Warriors in the summer of 2019, with Kyrie Irving having also joined.
Durant and Harden were team-mates on the Oklahoma City Thunder until Harden was traded to the Rockets in 2012, with Durant remaining with the team until 2016.
"I don't think about James Harden at all. I mean, he doesn't play on our team," Durant said.
The 31-year-old Durant also provided new insight into his expected role with the Nets for their upcoming campaign.
The Nets made the playoffs last season with Durant out, and Irving absent for much of the season, and then hired Steve Nash as head coach.
"I'm very excited about the future of this group," Durant said.
The Nets plan to play a smaller lineup and Durant outlined Nash's thoughts of having him split time between point guard and center this season. At either spot, the 6-foot-10 scoring machine will be a difficult check.
"I've never been one to predict anything but I like our chances of going out there and competing at that high level every single night," Durant said.
"And as tough as that is in this league, I think we're capable of doing it and we got a lot of guys who have experienced so much in this league. We got champions on this team.
"We got guys that have been in the playoff runs, have been in Game 7s so it's always important to have that much experience and knowledge within the group and we'll see where we go from here."
