After Blockbuster Trade, Nets’ Kevin Durant Says Playing With James Harden In Oklahoma City Was’ Fun ‘

Kevin Durant and James Harden helped lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA Finals in 2012 and after the two men met at the Brooklyn Nets through a four-team trade on Wednesday, Durant was asked what remember about playing with Harden.

“It was fun,” he said succinctly.

Just last month, when Harden trade rumors were spinning, Durant said, “I don’t think about James Harden at all. I mean, he doesn’t play on our team. “

Now it will.

After acquiring Harden to join forces in a “Big Three” with Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Nets are now the second seed behind LeBron James and the defending champion NBA Lakers to win the title. It was James, later with the Heat, who beat Durant, Harden and the Thunder, 4-1, to win the title in 2012.

“Heard it’s not finalized yet, so I’ll talk about it another time,” Durant said of Harden’s deal in a Zoom call with reporters after scoring 26 points, six assists and three rebounds in the Nets’ win. by 116-109. the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. It was Durant’s first game against the team he missed in free agency in 2019.

Last month, Durant dismissed as “fabricated” reports that he had spoken to Harden during offseason workouts in Los Angeles about joining the Nets.

“I don’t know where you made up these stories about James and I talking about this in training,” Durant said at the time. “I don’t know where that came from. James is a friend of mine, but I let the front office handle all of that. “

And they did.

Harden, Durant and Irving contracts are in effect next season. so your window to win an NBA championship is basically the next couple of seasons. All three have a player option for the 2022-23 season. Harden must pay $ 41.3 million this season and $ 44.3 million in 2021-22.

Harden, 31, played his last game with the Rockets Tuesday night against the Lakers and later said the Rockets “just aren’t good enough” to compete for a title.

Harden, an eight-time NBA All-Star and 2018 league MVP, is averaging 24.8 points, 10.4 assists and 5.1 rebounds.

How exactly Durant, Harden and Irving will co-exist and share a basketball remains to be seen, but first-year head coach Steve Nash said the key is selfless play.

“I always talk to our players about improving each other and having all five players be a threat and work to find common ground on the court and in space together,” Nash said. “It really is a simple game, but it gets complicated when you put different personalities and players on the court and our group has done a very good job of being selfless and trying to move the ball and work together so I’m proud of that. I don’t think we’ve had a problem sharing basketball this year. “

The Nets will appear on the last page of the tabloids in New York on Thursday, and now they are clearly the biggest draw in town.

And not just because they dominated the Knicks for much of the game despite having only nine available players.

“It was a good victory and above all we talked about it. [Tuesday] At night, we wanted to finish the second half of a back-to-back and especially with a team that is on the other side of the bridge and to know what that rivalry is like and to know how intensely this team plays at home, ”said Durant. “So we really wanted this game tonight and everyone played like him, and from top to bottom it was a great effort.”

Durant said he picked the Nets, not the Knicks, in free agency two years ago because the Knicks weren’t great anymore. In any case, the Knicks never offered Durant a maximum contract.

When he finally played at the Garden, there were no fans available to boo him.

“We definitely missed the fans tonight and I’m sure they would have given them an extra push as they tried to get back into the game,” Durant said. “But going forward, I know these battles will be tough no matter what each team’s record is, just the fact that it’s New York City right now, the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks will always be a good tie. ” .

“It’s a good step for us and we know this team, the Knicks, will come back even better in the next game.”