NEW YORK • Coach Mike D'Antoni and general manager Daryl Morey departed the Houston Rockets in the off-season and National Basketball Association (NBA) star James Harden could be the next one out the door.
The All-Star guard has declined Houston's offer of a contract that would pay him an NBA-record US$50 million (S$67.2 million) a season, and he instead is looking to engineer a trade that would send him to the Brooklyn Nets, ESPN reported on Monday.
According to the report, Harden turned down an extension for two years and US$103 million beyond the existing three years and US$133 million on his contract.
He is reportedly in contact with Nets forward Kevin Durant and guard Kyrie Irving in hopes of forming a "Big Three" in Brooklyn.
However, there has been no "meaningful dialogue" between the Nets and the Rockets about a Harden deal, reported ESPN.
D'Antoni parted ways with the Rockets in September after the team lost to eventual champions Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semi-finals and is now the assistant to new Brooklyn head coach Steve Nash.
Morey quit his post with Houston on Oct 15, two weeks before the team hired Stephen Silas as their new head coach. He is now the president of basketball operations at the Philadelphia 76ers.
The New York Times reported that Harden had wanted the team to hire Tyronn Lue, who is now the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, or promote Rockets' player development coach John Lucas as D'Antoni's replacement.
Harden, 31, has led the NBA in scoring each of the past three seasons. In 2019-20, he averaged 34.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.8 steals in 68 games.
He has reached the NBA Finals once - playing alongside Durant with the 2011-12 Oklahoma City Thunder team - and the Western Conference finals three other times but has yet to win a championship.
Durant, 32, is set to return in 2020-21 after missing all of last season due to a torn Achilles tendon.
He has two championship rings from his time with the Golden State Warriors, winning NBA Finals Most Valuable Player twice.
Irving, 28, joined the Nets last season after previous stints in Cleveland and Boston, but a shoulder operation in February ended his season early. He was a key part of the Cavaliers' 2015-16 championship team alongside LeBron James.
REUTERS
