With James Harden wanting out of Houston — preferably to Brooklyn — the Nets are trying to stamp out the rumors.

Good luck. That ship may have sailed.

With camp starting Tuesday, Kevin Durant denied reports he and Harden talked during offseason pickup games in LA about Harden joining the Nets.

“I don’t know where you’re making these stories up, that me and James talked about any of this at a workout. I don’t know where that came from,” Durant insisted. “James is a friend of mine, but I let the front office handle all of that stuff. I was just so focused on working out.

“I heard all the noise that James potentially wanted to come to the Nets. But anyone can make up stories, anyone can write a story and it gets some traction. Nothing’s ever set in stone until it’s set in stone, so I’ve never thought too much about it, just focused on myself. And my teammates probably did the same thing, and we just move forward.”

Of course, Durant never denied the conversations took place outside the Sports Academy, or that Harden isn’t trying to force his way off the Rockets

The Athletic reported that Golden State inquired about Harden’s availability before Klay Thompson’s injury. League sources continue to tell The Post that the perception is the three-time scoring champ is likely to open the season in Houston.

For his part, coach Steve Nash tried to wash his hands of the subject.

“As far as the Harden rumors, I don’t know. That’s … I love our team and I love our roster and I coach these guys, and I’m trying to build something incredibly competitive and enjoyable for our players and staff,” said Nash. “That’s a question for someone in a different role.”

The man in that role is GM Sean Marks. And with Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie and Jarrett Allen having all had their names thrust into trade rumors for Harden (and for Jrue Holiday before him), Marks said he’s had an open-door policy and frank talks with players to let them know where they stand.

“In regards to trade rumors … our doors are always open. They can always come in here and address it with me if they hear something or they want to get something off their chest. And Steve is the same way,” Marks said. “Between Steve and I both, to be quite frank, we’ve had these conversations with numerous guys and just kept them at ease as much as you possibly can.

“It’s a strange business. It’s the tough part of the business where your names are constantly going to be floated out in the media, and there’s no way around it really. You just have to be honest with them and say ‘Look, this is what’s happening, and this is what’s not happening. You’ll be the first to know if something ever does.’ ”

Durant said he hadn’t discussed the reports with teammates.

“We’re all professionals and just go about our days — come in, go to work, and go back home,” Durant said. “And whatever happens, guys will be prepared for anything.”