Harden Traded to Nets in Blockbuster Deal

Categories: News | Published by: Alex W

15/01/2021

James Harden has been requesting a trade from the Houston Rockets, and he was finally granted his wish on Wednesday afternoon.

The Houston Rockets were able to trade the former MVP to the Brooklyn Nets in a massive four-team deal.

The Brooklyn Nets also received a second-round draft pick in 2024 from the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of the deal, but this is a franchise that is looking to win now. This deal will reunite Harden with Kevin Durant after that duo both started their careers with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Brooklyn also has Kyrie Irving on the roster, but Irving is currently away from the team due to personal reasons. The Nets were preseason favorites to win the Eastern Conference, and those odds will get even better now with this “Big Three.”

The Rockets received a large package of draft picks from the Nets and Cavaliers as part of this deal as they look to rebuild for the future. Houston also sent Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards in the offseason in exchange for John Wall.

Houston will receive three unprotected first-round draft picks from the Nets in 2022, 2024, and 2026. The two teams could also swap picks in 2021, 2023, 2025, and 2027. The Rockets also received the Cavaliers’ first-round pick in 2022 via the Milwaukee Bucks.

Dante Exum went from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Rockets as a part of this deal. Cleveland received Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince from the Nets, who also sent Caris Levert to Houston in the trade.

The Rockets entertained several trade offers over the past few weeks, and most NBA insiders believed that the Philadelphia 76ers were the favorites to land Harden. Brooklyn was able to get two other teams involved to complete this deal on Wednesday afternoon.

Harden was not at practice on Wednesday after making some negative comments following a loss on Tuesday night. Several players reacted to the Harden comments, and it became clear that the Rockets needed to trade him before another game was played.

Brooklyn now has three open roster spots to fill, and it has plenty of additional cash to make some other moves.

Oladipo Out in Indiana

Victor Oladipo is another player that was unhappy with his current situation, seemingly requesting a trade from the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers were able to sneak in as part of this blockbuster trade and send Oladipo out the door.

The Pacers were able to acquire LeVert from the Rockets in exchange for Oladipo, and it could play a huge role in the fortunes of Indiana this season. Oladipo has been an All-Star performer for the Pacers, but the team decided that moving on was in their best interest.

Indiana is currently 7-4 in the Eastern Conference, and it believes that it is a real contender this season. The Pacers are also set to receive a second-round pick from the Rockets as a part of this deal.

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