James Harden Trade Gives Houston Rockets Playoff Team Now, Future Flexibility Later - Forbes

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The Houston Rockets seemingly had little to no leverage with James Harden.

After Harden’s remarks on Tuesday night following a lopsided loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston knew it had reached the point of no return. But since the 31-year-old, eight-time All-Star and three-time scoring champ had asked out before the start of the regular season, there was plenty of time for Rockets general manager Rafael Stone to canvass the league and see which trade packages were out there for him from the list of Harden’s preferred trade destinations, which reportedly included Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Boston, Miami and Portland.

So Stone and Houston struck quickly on Wednesday, sending Harden to the Brooklyn Nets as part of a massive blockbuster four-team trade that also included the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers. While the Rockets didn’t obtain a superstar player like Kyrie Irving from the Nets or Ben Simmons from the Sixers, they did get one All-Star and a yachtload of draft picks and swaps in return.

Houston is getting former first round pick Rodions Kurucs and unprotected first round picks from Brooklyn in 2022, 2024 and 2026 as well as unprotected first round pick swaps in 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027. It’s also getting All-Star guard Victor Oladipo from the Indiana Pacers, who’s on the last year of his contract, and guard Dante Exum from the Cleveland Cavaliers, who’s an expiring deal as well. The two aforementioned players could be traded again by the March deadline if things go haywire with the current Rockets roster.

The Rockets lost six of their first nine games this season and got a checked-out Harden from the very start. He arrived to training camp late after being seen partying in multiple cities outside Texas and was just not his normal self throughout the first half of January.

Stone now has himself with an intriguing backcourt of John Wall and Oladipo, with Eric Gordon on the wing and Christian Wood and DeMarcus Cousins up front. Those three former All-Star players have something to prove and could certainly be one of the top 10 clubs in the West this season. Exum and Kurucs will scrap for rotation slots for new head coach Stephen Silas. And now the Rockets are the biggest Nets haters out there because they’re now in command of their next seven first round picks.

Was it a home run? A trade like that was likely impossible for Stone given Harden’s demands and the current situation. But the Daryl Morey acolyte did just fine for himself in not only shedding Harden but also compromising neither the present nor the future.

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January 14, 2021 at 05:28AM
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James Harden Trade Gives Houston Rockets Playoff Team Now, Future Flexibility Later - Forbes
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