James Harden has been traded by the Houston Rockets to the Brooklyn Nets in a 4-team deal.
It has not been a secret that former NBA MVP, James Harden did not want to be a member of the Houston Rockets anymore. Houston did their best to maintain Harden and make him happy, swapping out Russell Westbrook and Clint Capela for fresh blood this offseason in the form of John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. Wall has looked like his old self so far, but tensions were too high between Harden and the organization.
Harden noted the Brooklyn Nets as his preferred destination, but as time progressed, he added a few more teams to that list. Per ESPN, through which all of this news surfaced, the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn were the only feasible options remaining before yesterday’s news.
Per ESPN’s ever-mysterious sources, James Harden has been traded to Brooklyn in a four-team megadeal. The deal involves budding star, Caris LeVert going to the Indiana Pacers and Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince going to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Houston received Victor Oladipo from the Pacers, Dante Exum from the Cavs, Rodions Kurucs from the Nets, and Brooklyn’s three unprotected first-round draft picks (2022, 2024, and 2026). The Rockets also get Cleveland’s 2022 first-round pick (via the Bucks) and 2024 second-round pick. They are also sending a second-round pick (2023) to the Pacers.
Get all that? Oladipo and LeVert in their new homes will be interesting. If Oladipo can return to All-Star form, the Rockets should remain in contention for a lower playoff seed in the West. To shed a toxic situation, remain in the playoff hunt, and score multiple nice picks, Houston made out pretty darn well.
Harden to Brooklyn is of course the headline. He joins fellow former MVP and (OKC Thunder teammate), Kevin Durant, who seems to have not missed a step since returning from an achilles injury. We would say he joins Kyrie Irving as well, but Irving is in the wind, taking a mysterious personal leave. The only sign of Kyrie has been a video showing him at a large birthday party where no one was masked. Sticky.
Nets first-year Head Coach, Steve Nash has his hands full. This could be a championship team or it could be one of the biggest implosions the league has seen in a while.
Brooklyn now has three bench spots to fill and is immediately the top team to watch in the association. The LA Lakers are defending champs and only got stronger this offseason. It may be their ‘ship to lose, but Brooklyn has leapfrogged Boston and Milwaukee as Eastern Conference favorites, though there is plenty of work to do.
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