James Harden has been listed as ‘questionable’ for the Nets’ game against the Orlando Magic on Saturday night, as reported by ESPN.
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The blockbuster trade that has been waiting to happen for nearly 2 months now has come to fruition. Rumors linking Harden to the Nets have been floating around ever since Russ put in his trade request. Everyone speculated that this would be the end of the Harden era in H-Town, and they were right.
The Rockets tried their level best to keep Harden. They traded Russ for John Wall, brought in Christian Wood and DeMarcus Cousins and improved their wing depth. Unfortunately, they didn’t do nearly enough to convince their star scorer to stay. Following two blowout losses to the Lakers, Harden had had enough.
He spoke about his trade situation openly in the press conference, stating clearly that he would force his way out. This led to an acceleration in trade talks and the Rockets eventually sent him to the Nets the next day.
Is James Harden playing tonight?
Harden will be available to play tonight. This will be subject to the other players involved in the trade passing their fitness tests. The other players in this trade are Taurean Prince, Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Victor Oladipo.
Harden has not practiced with his new teammates thus far. But for a player at his skill level, it shouldn’t be hard to put in a couple of minutes as a cursory appearance. Seeing him in a Nets jersey will be the latest sign of changing times for a hoard of NBA fans.
Neither the Pacers nor Rockets have announced their portion of the 4-team trade that sent James Harden to the Nets. Harden did not practice with BKN today as not all players involved in the trade completed their physical.
Something to monitor re: Harden’s availability vs. ORL
— Christopher Lavinio (@ChrisLavinio) January 15, 2021
