The blockbuster scenario of James Harden forming a Big 3 deluxe in Brooklyn may not be as farfetched as the Dodgers moving back to Ebbets Field.
ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins, a former teammate of Harden’s with Oklahoma City, floated the Harden idea last week about Brooklyn and the Sixers being potential destinations for the bearded wonder if he feels his time is up in Houston and demands a trade.
Is Barclays Center big enough for Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving? The NBA may find out.
On Sunday night, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski doubled down on the chances of a Brooklyn Dream Team when he tweeted Harden was considering his future with the franchise and the Nets are “rising to the top of his list.’’
Joining forces with KD and Irving, Woj tweeted, was “resonating’’ with Harden, the southpaw scoring machine who averaged 30-plus points in each of the last three seasons.
It should also resonate with Harden because Nets assistant coach Mike D’Antoni allowed Harden to flourish in Houston.
While the Knicks ponder making a splash with Houston point guard Russell Westbrook, New York City may turn back into the Mecca of Basketball if this could happen and give the struggling league the jolt it needs.
James HardenGettyThe pawns the Nets would likely have to deliver the Rockets include two of the four players: Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert — who excelled in the Orlando bubble — and role player Taurean Prince. The Nets’ 19th pick in Wednesday’s draft may have to be surrendered, too.
Harden-KD-Irving not only makes a spectacular star-power trio, but would allow swingman Joe Harris to be wide open from the 3-point line on almost every possession if they re-sign him, too.
The Rockets will have a say in all this and reportedly are still telling teams they want “to run it back” this season with their current cast despite the Westbrook report he wants out. According to ESPN, Harden is concerned the Rockets’ title window has closed.
Irving and Durant are on $141 million and $164 million deals, respectively, while Harden has $131.5 million left on his contract at Houston.
Nets billionaire owner Joe Tsai has shown a willingness to spend at any cost, although his net worth reportedly took a major dip in the past two weeks because of new Chinese regulation.
Tsai’s stock in Alibaba dipped dramatically when regulators put new restraints on the company’s business, costing him billions.
The good news for Tsai is the NBA agreed this week to reevaluate the luxury-tax penalties after the coming pandemic season if basketball revenue declines sharply as a 72-game season begins Dec. 22. Tsai will owe $50 million in luxury tax but it could be reduced.
As for basketball, Tsai knows it is NBA Finals or bust for the Nets. He also has come to the realization that in order to steal the town away from the more popular Knicks, extraordinary measures are needed to be taken.
A KD-Irving-Harden triumvirate would be nothing short of epic. It also is insurance in case Durant’s Achilles or Irving’s shoulder doesn’t hold up. The depressing part of this scenario is when the season opens, no fans will be allowed inside Barclays Center due to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s ban on audiences for indoor live sports.
But the TV spectacle would be enormous as coaches Steve Nash and D’Antoni figure out how to make sure Durant, Irving and Harden can co-exist with one basketball.
And can you imagine the Knicks-Nets rivalry if Harden and Westbrook are on opposite sides of the East River?




