Earlier this week, NBA superstar James Harden was traded to the Nets for what seemed like the entire city of Brooklyn, in a 4 team trade between the Rockets, Nets, Cavaliers, and Pacers. This deal had so many moving parts so let’s get right into it.

Here are the details of the deal:

Nets Receive: James Harden

Rockets Receive: Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, 3 Brooklyn firsts(22, 24,26),  1 Milwaukee first(22 unprotected), 4 Brooklyn first-round pick swaps(21, 23, 25, 27)

Pacers Receive: Caris Levert, Houston second-round pick(21)

Cavaliers Receive: Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince

The Nets basically have gotten rid of most of their very deep bench and given their entire future over to other teams for James Harden. A big risk from the Nets GM Sean Marks, but one he is obviously willing to take.

The next step of these trades was the Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince to the cavaliers. And all they had to get rid of was a pick that wasn’t their own and Dante Exum. I think that the Cavs were the biggest winner of this deal in comparison to what they gave up. Jarrett Allen has been playing incredibly well this season and he is only 22, and Taurean Prince is a capable spot-up 3 point shooter and a good perimeter defender, especially on forwards. This does put them in the unfortunate spot of having way too many big men, but this isn’t the worst problem to have for a rebuilding team as they have time to move pieces. They have a roster that consists of Kevin Love, Andre Drummon, Javale McGee, Thon Maker, Dean Wade, Larry Nance Jr, and Marques Bolden. All of these players are big men but Larry Nance Jr. and Kevin Love are players that multiple teams have shown interest in and can easily be moved. This has been a complete dub for Cleveland.

Indiana in my eyes also had a great time in this trade. They gave up Victor Oladipo for Caris Levert and a second-rounder. Oldipo has shown no interest in resigning in Indiana after his contract expires after this season, and was able to get a player in the same position, with a similar play style and skill level who was on a friendlier contract for the team. Not to mention the sweetener of the second-rounder.

As I am writing this though, it has been discovered that Levert has developed a mass on his kidney and he is out indefinitely, he should be okay and this is still an overall win for the Pacers. Before his injury, Oladipo was one of the most explosive players in the league who was carrying the pacers in the playoffs. But now, Levert is within 2 of every significant statistical category. Levert also is doing that with fewer minutes and fewer touches on the ball given that he has been playing with a very full team that had Kyrie Irving, KD, Joe Harris, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Jarett Allen. All these players are very capable scorers so now that Levert is on the pacers as a 2nd/3rd scoring option, his numbers should only go up. If I were a Pacers fan I would be absolutely ecstatic about this trade.

The Rockets were in a large predicament coming into this season. James Harden, the leader of the team, requested a trade and the rockets had to find the best trade for them as a franchise rather than just getting rid of him ASAP. The two main destinations were the sixers and the nets. The 76ers were able to offer Ben Simmons, Matisse Thybulle, and picks, but the Rockets wanted Tyrese Maxey, who had recently dropped 39 points, in the deal. The Nets made a huge push for Harden when they offered the Rockets control over the Nets draft picks for the next 8 years. This strategy is a somewhat odd one that doesn’t happen very often.

The Celtics traded Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Nets in 2012 for what seemed to be all of the Nets picks in a trade that ultimately worked out for the Celtics. More recently, the Thunder traded Paul George to the Clippers for Shai Giligous-Alexander, picks out the wazoo, and other small pieces. Another situation similar to the Harden one was when Anthony Davis requested a trade to the Lakers a year and a half ago. The Lakers were able to offer a plethora of young players full of potential, as well as first-rounders. The Pelicans and Thunder got the best hauls out of all the teams because they also received young studs, but that doesn’t mean that what the rockets got was no small haul. They have all these picks to make a big trade in the future to create their own very deep team led by John Wall, Victor Oladipo, and Christian Wood.

The Nets have made a very interesting move in this trade. Arguably the team’s biggest strength was its depth, as their second unit was basically a low tier starting lineup for an NBA team. Jarrett Allen has been carrying the Nets’ interior defense and actually took the leap over Deandre Jordan to become the starting big man. Jarrett Allen was able to slow Joel Embiid down when the Nets faced the 76ers, holding him to 20 points, a low number for the possible MVP Joel Embiid. Allen, Levert, and Prince all had a substantial amount of minutes this season and this trade gives nets fans a real concern about their bench, especially with Dinwiddie out for the rest of the season with an ACL tear. 

If I were the Nets GM I would’ve traded Kyrie Iring, Taurean Prince, and two first-rounders and maybe pick swaps to the Rockets for James Harden and PJ Tucker. Kyrie Irving has been a big question mark as he has missed two weeks of basketball to do a two-week birthday party with his sister. We have no idea how committed he is to the team and Harden is easily a better player, and the nets get to keep their depth. PJ Tucker is one of the best corner 3 point shooters in the league and even one of the most versatile defenders. The picks would be a necessary evil but one I would definitely be willing to take for a deal like this.

What the rockets did was very good with this trade, obtaining Oladipo and control of 8 years worth of picks from the Nets. However, I think the best trade for them to have done would have been Ben Simmon, Matisse Thybulle, and two first-rounders for James Harden. Simmons and Thybulle would be amazing fits with John Wall and Christian Wood, as Simmons and Thybulle are fantastic defenders.

Simmons is one of the best creators in the league and could’ve been a great help to the Rockets who have a team full of scorers. Thybulle has shown off great flashes of potential last season up until the bubble. He could easily be one of the premier defenders in the NBA, with a steady jumper that he has been consistently improving upon. This offer was on the table but the Rockets wanted Maxey, a player who has a ton of potential, so much so that the sixers refused to deal him.

This trade had so many moving parts but it honestly looks like this 4 team trade had no real losers. One could only imagine what it would be like if the Sixers traded for Harden though, the combo of Harden and Embiid would have been one of the best in the league. Oh well sixers fans, better luck next time!