In what very well may be the biggest trade of the season, James Harden has finally been traded to the Brooklyn Nets.
The now-ex-Houston Rockets superstar guard had initially shared before the season that he wanted to get traded to a contender, ideally the Nets. But nothing really ended up happening from that.
However, after the Rockets got blown out by the Los Angeles Lakers 117-100, Harden decided it was the last straw. In the press conference after the game, he declared that Houston simply wasn’t “good enough” to declare for a title.
In a shocking turn of events, Houston then engaged in a four-way trade with the Nets, the Indiana Pacers, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Nets received the biggest piece of the trade in Harden. The Rockets received a massive package that included three unprotected first-round draft picks and four pick swaps from the Nets, along with Brooklyn forward Rodions Kurucs. But Houston also got Pacers star forward Victor Oladipo, Cavs guard Dante Exum, and Cleveland’s 2022 first-round draft pick that they got from the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Cavs were given young big man Jarrett Allen and forward Taurean Prince from the Nets, and the Pacers received promising guard Caris LeVert from the Nets as well. To top it off, Cleveland also received a 2023 second-round pick from Houston.
The most exciting part of the trade is Harden teaming up with fellow stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn, forming a formidable big three that teams won’t be excited to face.
