NBA Rumors: Kevin Durant, James Harden ‘Were Hardly Communicating’ Before KD’s Injury

AP Photo/Noah K. Murray

The relationship between former Brooklyn Nets teammates Kevin Durant and James Harden reportedly soured so much that the two “were hardly communicating” prior to KD suffering a sprained MCL in mid-January.

Longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein delivered the report (h/t HoopsHype).

“Beyond the rampant skepticism about the severity of his latest hamstring injury, on top of the ever-present questions about his substandard conditioning and how much it contributed to his unending hamstring troubles as a Net, Harden has been a brooding presence for months.

“League sources say there were times before Durant’s injury that the two stars, for reasons unclear, were hardly communicating—followed by the chaos of the past few Durant-less weeks when Harden stopped connecting with anyone to passive-aggressively convey he no longer wanted to be there.”

On Thursday, the Nets traded Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers in a five-player, two-pick deal that also sent point guard Ben Simmons to Brooklyn. With that move, the Harden era in Brooklyn ended after 13 months.

The Nets acquired Harden in a blockbuster deal with the Rockets in Jan. 2021. He was supposed to team up with Durant and Kyrie Irving to form a new superteam.

However, the three were rarely on the court at the same time, ultimately playing just 16 games together. That was largely due to injury as well as Irving being ineligible to play home games amid New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Now fans will never see what that trio could have been capable of doing. In addition, it appears the era did not end gracefully, with Harden reportedly wanting out.

Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski prior to the move on Feb. 10:

“Harden is hopeful that 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey secures a trade for him before Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET NBA trade deadline. A trade may hinge on Morey’s willingness to include assets, beyond exiled guard Ben Simmons, needed to persuade the Nets to unload Harden.”

Wojnarowski also said that Harden did not make a formal trade request due to a fear of public backlash after he wanted out of Houston last year.

Durant hasn’t spoken publicly regarding how he felt about Harden in the days and weeks leading to the trade, but the fact that he didn’t pick him as a reserve during the NBA All-Star Game draft is fairly telling:

At any rate, Harden has moved on, and now the Nets and 76ers will move forward with their new rosters. They’ll face each other once more in the regular season when Philadelphia hosts Brooklyn on March 10.