Brooklyn net Harden in trade
After months of trade speculation, the Brooklyn Nets have agreed to acquire James Harden from the Houston Rockets in a blockbuster, four-team trade for a package that includes Caris LeVert, four firstround picks and four pick swaps.
In Brooklyn, where Kiwi Sean Marks is the general manager, Harden will reunite with former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Kevin Durant as well as Kyrie Irving to lead one of the East’s top contenders. It ends a tumultuous few months for Harden and the Rockets, whose nine-year marriage produced eight playoff trips and two berths in the Western Conference finals.
The Nets will reportedly send Rodion Kurucs, first-round picks in 2022, 2024 and 2026 and swaps in 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027 to Houston.
Brooklyn will also reportedly send center Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who will send Dante Exum and a 2022 first-round pick to the Rockets.
The Rockets, meanwhile, will reportedly reroute LeVert to the Indiana Pacers for Victor Oladipo. ESPN. com first reported the framework of the Nets deal, while The Athletic first reported Indiana’s involvement.
After a pair of demoralising blowout losses to the Los Angeles Lakers, Harden candidly expressed his belief that the struggling Rockets were not salvageable, accelerating longstanding trade talks for the 2018 MVP. ‘‘We’re just not good enough,’’ Harden said Tuesday after the Rockets fell at home 117-100 to the defending champions.
‘‘I love this city. I literally have done everything that I can. The situation is crazy. It’s something that I don’t think can be fixed.’’
The dire assessment from Harden, who has been the face of the Rockets since 2012, comes a little more than one month after he reported to training camp late. Multiple reports at the time linked the Rockets with the Nets and Philadelphia 76ers in trade talks involving the three-time scoring champion, who has seen Houston’s roster and organisation change dramatically around him.