Coach Steve Nash says Brooklyn Nets are not trading James Harden

DENVER — The Brooklyn Nets do not plan to trade James Harden prior to Thursday's NBA trade deadline. Nets coach Steve Nash made that clear before Sunday's game against the Denver Nuggets as Harden's name continues to pop up in trade speculation.

«Yes,» Nash said. «That's correct.»

Nash also said Harden has repeatedly told him that he wants to stay in Brooklyn for the foreseeable future.

«I've talked to James, he wants to be here,» Nash said. «He wants to be here long term as well, so I don't think anything's changed other than noise from the outside. James wants to be here, we're building with James and we think we have the best chance to win with James. I don't think anything's changed on the inside, in our locker room, in our communication, it's just all the noise from the [outside].»

After Harden turned down a three-year, $161 million extension in the offseason, he has four options available to him after the season, as ESPN's Bobby Marks notes. The first is he could exercise his $47.4 million player option for next season — and extend for an additional four years and $222.8 million with the Nets. If he declines his player option, he can sign a five-year deal with the Nets worth $269.8 million, essentially the same figure as the first option.

The third option is that if Harden declines his player option, he can sign a four-year, $200 million contract with a team that has cap space. As Marks points out, the only teams projected to have that kind of room are the Detroit Pistons, the Orlando Magic and the San Antonio Spurs.

The final option, if Harden were to decide he wanted to go to a specific team, would be to exercise his player option and then sign the four-year, $222.8 million extension six months after a trade is