The Latest Breaking News from Nets

LOS ANGELES — Something is still amiss with James Harden.

MIAMI — Ben Simmons took his first flight since his balky back flared up and is “feeling a lot less pain,” a positive sign toward a potential debut this season with the Nets.

MIAMI — Kevin Durant understands the impetus for changing the mandate was baseball, not Kyrie Irving.

The Rockets (18-55) and Pistons (20-53) each have a game on Friday night, which could prove pivotal in the 2022 NBA draft race — since Houston is in a rare position as a road favorite.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Mayor Eric Adams gained some critics with his controversial decision regarding New York City’s vaccine mandate. But he won’t find any of that backlash in the Mets clubhouse.

He said this was about “putting New York City-based performers on a level-playing field.”

Mayor Eric Adams, speaking at Citi Field where the Mets play, said Thursday that he had signed the order. The exemption was effective immediately.

New York City’s mayor exempted athletes and performers from the city’s vaccine mandate following weeks of pressure from the sports world after the rule kept Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving from playing in home games and was expected to block several baseball players from taking the field in their upcoming…

There are major baseball implications, too.

Between Houston’s loss on Wednesday and a victory by Detroit, the Rockets now own a two-game lead (in the win column) in the race for the 2022 NBA draft’s No. 1 positioning slot.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — What’s chemistry to a team with two of the greatest scorers in NBA history?