NETS ACQUIRE HARDEN IN BLOCKBUSTER 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 first-round picks and four pick swaps, according to ESPN and The Athletic. 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 centre 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. In Brooklyn, 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. The agreement 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.