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The Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets are nearing a deal to send James Harden to Brooklyn, multiple league sources have told Front Office Sports.
The deal isn’t “official” but sources say a deal is in place and the two teams have a “verbal agreement.” Harden declined a two-year, $103 million extension with the Rockets so he could force a trade to Brooklyn.
The idea is for the Nets to create a super team around Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Harden, the team believing they have a three-year window with the superstars and they’re all in while at the table. One league source close to the situation said, “They [Brooklyn] not only want to win, they want to ‘dominate.’”
Harden, 31, has three years remaining on his contract and has spoken with Durant about a reunion, as the two have spent time working out together on the West Coast in the last couple of weeks. Harden played with Durant in Oklahoma City for three seasons and made one Finals appearance in 2012.
While no details have emerged on what the Nets would give up, league sources believe the team would have to package “the house” – which would revolve around up-and-coming star Caris LeVert plus the likelihood of players like Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen and Nicolas Claxton. League sources also added that Brooklyn will have to surrender an array of first-round picks in the coming years for any of this to come to fruition.
Houston, although reluctant to part with the superstar, prefers to send Harden to an Eastern Conference team, said one league official. The belief is that Harden will indeed get his way and land with the Brooklyn Nets in a blockbuster trade.
The NBA trade moratorium was lifted on Monday, but no trades can be made official until Nov. 22.
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