James Harden Traded to the Nets: Does it Make Them Better?
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James Harden has been traded from the Houston Rockets. After requesting to be traded over a month ago, he finally had his request granted. The Houston Rockets have traded him to the Brooklyn Nets in a four-team trade involving the Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Indiana Pacers. The Rockets have received Caris LeVert and three unprotected first-round draft picks (2022, 2024 and 2026) from the Nets while they also received pick swaps (2021,2023,2025 and 2027) from Brooklyn while receiving Cleveland’s 2022 first-round pick (via Milwaukee Bucks).
The Rockets also received Dante Exum (from the Cavaliers) and Rodions Kurucs (from the Nets). They then traded Caris LeVert to the Pacers in exchange for Victor Oladipo. The Pacers also received a 2023 second-round pick from the Rockets. The Cavaliers received Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince from the Brooklyn Nets.
The Nets gave up a lot to get Harden, but he should have no problem replacing the offensive production that left. However, the Nets have not been great defensively in their first couple of games and now they have lost their best defender and rebounder. Steve Nash will have to figure a way to split up the minutes of his three starts so that there will not be a huge drop off from the bench now that Caris LaVert is gone. The ball-dominant style of Harden will take some time to mesh with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Durant is the most adept at playing off the ball, having been accustomed to playing with players such as Russell Westbrook as well as playing within the Warriors ball movement system. While Harden and Durant have played together before, Harden is a different player than he was nine years ago in Oklahoma City.
The Nets now have Durant and Harden, two players who have combined for seven of the last eleven scoring titles, and Kyrie Irving, one of the most skilled offensive players in NBA history. Their offense will be virtually unstoppable, but come playoff time, when the offense does not come as easy for them, they will need to be able to lock in on defense and lock teams down.
This move only solidifies their place as the favorites to come out on top of the Eastern Conference.
As for the Rockets, they get a good player in Victor Oladipo and four future first-round picks. They still have a good team even without Harden, with players such as John Wall, Christian Wood, Demarcus Cousins, Eric Gordon and now Oladipo. Depending on injuries and how the rest of the Western Conference plays out, the Rockets could potentially find themselves in the play-in tournament for a playoff spot. If the front office decides this team is not going anywhere anytime soon, they still have draft picks they can use to trade for another player or draft a new star.
Rockets Potential Lineup:
PG: John Wall
SG: Victor Oladipo
SF: Danuel House Jr.
PF: P.J. Tucker
C: Christian Wood
Bench: DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Gordon and Ben McLemore.
Nets Potential Lineup:
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Joe Harris
SF: James Harden
PF: Kevin Durant
C: DeAndre Jordan
Bench: Jeff Green, Landry Shamet and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
Pacers Potential Lineup:
PG: Malcolm Brogdon
SG: Caris LeVert
SF: Justin Holiday
PF: Domantas Sabonis
C: Myles Turner
Cavaliers Potential Lineup
PG: Larry Nance Jr.
SG: Kevin Love
SF: Andre Drummond
PF: Jarrett Allen
C: JaVale McGee
Bench: Thon Maker
