Marks: Harden worth the risk
Brooklyn GM says title shot justifies giving up slew of first-round picks
The Brooklyn Nets, as transformed as they have been from the front office to the court over the years, still know the perils of dealing so many draft picks to form a Big Three and chase a championship. They’re happily doing it anyway.
The Nets sent away three first-round picks and the right to swap draft positions in four other first rounds to get James Harden from the Rockets and put him on the floor with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. While the Rockets thought of their future, prioritizing their haul of picks (also getting a Milwaukee firstrounder from the Cavaliers), the Nets made the deal to add a third star in their latest all-in move to win a championship.
“We need to capitalize on the window, what’s in front of us right now,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said. “That’s why some of these decisions have to be made. We’re looking forward to getting this group out there.
“When you have the opportunity to add James Harden to your roster, you’re certainly going to do your due diligence and do everything you possibly can to make that happen.”
Harden is the first reigning scoring champion to be traded since the Rockets acquired Tracy Mcgrady in 2004.
Harden has been the NBA’S top scorer for three consecutive seasons after winning the assists title, making him one of six players in league history to have won both. The 2018 NBA MVP, Harden was third in the MVP voting last season, the fifth time in his past six seasons he was in the top three.
“We know what James is capable (of ) on the court,” said Marks, who played for the Spurs from 2004 to 2006. “We’ve seen that, when you’re bringing in an MVP, (all-nba) player, he knows what he’s capable of doing. We’ve had conversations with him, and he’s so eager to get on the court with these guys and be part of this and start fresh. There’s an excitement, I know our group is excited, our coaching staff is excited.
“When we brought in (Irving) and Kevin, you’re learning from them, you’re learning from how they want to play, because there’s no defense that they haven’t seen already. The same thing from James. So we’re going to be learning from James, and he’ll be adding his thoughts and process to Steve (Nash) and helping Steve and the coaching staff out. There’s already a prior relationship there as well.”
Harden played with Durant for three seasons in Oklahoma City and for Mike D’antoni, a Nets assistant running the offense for Nash, for four seasons in Houston.
“It’s certainly beneficial having Mike, somebody who knows James very well and have coached him the last (four) years, for sure,” Marks said.
Marks said his conversations with Harden have made him confident his new star will mesh with Irving and Durant.
“I like what I heard,” Marks said. “I think he’s looking for a fresh start. These guys are going to have to sacrifice. But they’re also going to push us … and hopefully take our franchise where we need to go. He knows what’s at stake.
“They want to win. All I heard from James is ‘I want to win. I’m all about winning.’ That’s what we need to hear.”
The Nets now might measure success only by whether the mix delivers the franchise’s first championship. If the move fails, there will reminders for years because of all the lost picks, as with the Nets’ 2013 draft night move to put Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry together, sacrificing three first-round picks and a pick swap. The Celtics used those picks to draft Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and to trade for Irving.
But the Nets say they’re confident this move was worth the gamble.
“These guys have given us the right answers,” Marks said. “They’ve said hey, they want to play together, they can see this fitting. They’re at a time in their careers … I think they understand that there’s without a doubt going to be some nights where one or two need to sacrifice for the other and so forth. But I think they’re all looking for a common goal. We’re all looking for that common goal, as I’ve said before … to be the last team standing.”