The Nets are counting on star power to make them a title contender after shipping away much of their depth in the James Harden trade, writes Alex Schiffer of The Athletic. While Brooklyn now has two former MVPs in Harden and Kevin Durant, the move came at the cost of Caris LeVert, an explosive young scorer, and Jarrett Allen, who has been outplaying starting center DeAndre Jordan all season.
Veteran big man Jeff Green, one of the leaders of the now-depleted reserve unit, doesn’t believe the deal for Harden means the team is starting over.
“It’s just one guy that we have to integrate and get acquainted with what we’re trying to accomplish and what we’re doing on the floor, and I’m pretty sure he’ll pick it up fast,” said Green, who was Harden’s teammate for part of last season in Houston. “We’re going to do what we’ve got to do to make sure he’s aware of the spots and what we’re looking for. He’s going to do what he does best. I think it will be good for us, but I don’t look at it as a restart. It’s just another juice of energy that we’re going to get from him being on the floor and being part of this team.”
There’s more news related to the trade:
- Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks said the uncertain situation surrounding Kyrie Irving had nothing to do with the deal, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Marks added that Irving is excited to rejoin the team, although he didn’t say when that will happen. Marks indicated that more moves are coming, adds Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link). “Without a doubt the roster is not done, it’s not finalized,” Marks said. “We’ll continue to try and add pieces as we go through this season.” The Nets currently have three open roster spots.
- The Nets wanted to give up Taurean Prince rather than Spencer Dinwiddie for financial reasons, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. Dinwiddie may miss the rest of the season after having ACL reconstruction surgery last week, so he won’t be able to contribute to a team that’s built to win a title right away. However, Brooklyn was determined to get rid of Prince’s $13MM contract for next season. Hollinger explains that the Nets are already facing potential luxury tax payments between $70MM and $80MM for 2022, and keeping Prince on the roster could have added up to $50MM to that total.
- By trading Victor Oladipo for LeVert and a second-round pick, the Pacers are able to avoid a difficult free agency decision this summer, Hollinger notes in the same story. While Oladipo is in the final year of his contract, LeVert is signed for two more years at $17.5MM in 2021/22 and $18.8MM in 2022/23. Hollinger points out that Indiana now has four starters in their 20s who are all under contract through 2023, along with T.J. Warren, whose deal expires in 2022. The Pacers were slightly over the tax line before the deal, but Hollinger adds that they can now use their full mid-level exception this summer without any tax concerns.
- The Celtics never made a serious bid for Harden, tweets Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports. “We had conversations regarding James, but not recently,” president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said on a radio show this morning. “… It was just something that we didn’t want to do … Unanimously we decided it wasn’t the time for us.”
Rockets are now dead organization
Rockets won’t make playoffs next 7 years. West is tough
Nets have better reputation and have money
Nets can still make playoffs every year 2024-2027
East is easy
Lol 3 years ago you would of said exact opposite
R.I.P. the MVP account.
Rest in shame harden mvp.
He should have never disrespected Curry…soon you all will know what to do…the “disrespecting greatness” curse is real…
@fishy14 funny how time changes things, huh?
Silli said the same thing about Rocks before the season. Most ppl did. Well it’s less of an exaggeration now!
Best of luck to the Nets dealing with getting Harden into shape and managing his ego and strip club fun. They’re going nowhere with Harden except maybe losing in the playoffs, if they get there.
Pacers and Cavs have done well out of this. Pacers could surprise a team or two in the playoffs. Be interesting to see what’s gonna happen at the Rockets now. I think they’ll be solid if not spectacular. Nets are going to be fun!! From Kenny Atkinson and Dlo turning the corner for the franchise – to this!!Its crazy as!!
Oh lord he abandoned the Rockets and made a new account.
Oh my goodness is this real. So it was never about the rockets. Just the beard..
I don’t think it is the same guy. Pretty sure it is a Nets fan who is making fun of his old name. Harden MVP guy showed up with a different name.
Are you really Harden Westbrook MVP?
Hwmvps new name oladipo, wall & wood.
So,WOWMVP?
I definitely don’t want Harden on the Celtics but on the other hand it’s frustrating that now never seems to be the time to actually build a great team. Ainge has been saying “This isn’t the time” for like 10 years. I think he’s lost his edge.
Boston = Denver right now. Both teams with great young players, some depth, and the ability to get to their conference finals. But not quite enough.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Thank you for writing exactly what I was thinking. I’m sure there’s many more Celtics fans that feel the same. Same old from Danny.
Ainge gotta hoard all those mid to late first round picks so he can draft someone half decent twice a decade. Lol.
Oladipo declared that he doesn’t want to play for Rockets
How about Celtics TPE for Oladipo?
Ainge would probably offer a 2nd round pick and Jeff Teague… He can’t dare miss out on the next Gershon Yabusele.
Danny Ainge after any trade:
“We could have made this trade, but the other team didn’t want to trade all it’s good players, 3 first rounders, and cash considerations.”
lol Ainge said the thing he likes to say, not necessarily the truth. Boston fans keep track of things and might have liked to get out of Kemba’s contract but going after Harden would have been the real head-scratcher.
Welp, PJ Tucker, Jarrett Allen, JaVale McGee, Andre Drummond and Victor Oladipo are all on GSW’s radar now.
You guys really should have not have gotten in the way of my “Korver as 14th man” argument because now Kelly Oubre is proving he isn’t a fit with for GSW’s culture and is a perfect match for money for almost all of those players. Allen won’t stay in Cleveland, they are a terrible franchise and he can opt out after this season anyway. I hope he demands a trade tbh, also the Cavs are actually better off with a 1st rounder in next years draft instead of Allen.
Crystal ball says….
GSW to use the Klay Thompson IPE to trade future picks for one of Allen, Tucker or McGee
GSW to trade Oubre for Oladipo or Drummond
GSW washes LAL in 4 in the WCF
Don’t be mad at me, its the crystal ball!!!
My crystal ball says GSW greatness is firmly in the rearview mirror and they will be somewhere around the 6-8 seed in the West this year. Oh, and looking forward to the a$$ kicking the Lakers are about to drop on them in the next week.
Lol, you were saying Oubre about to be amazing and now he doesn’t fit? And what’s with this Warriors/Curry and I against everyone on TradeRumors app attitude?
Why would Warriors want Drummond? As a Cavs fan, trust me you don’t want him. He is a vacuum on offense. If the ball touches his hands in the paint, the ball isn’t coming out. He’s also at 45% shooting and 4+ turnovers (as a center). Also, you have a future all-star in Wiseman. JaVale makes sense, he could help Warriors and Wiseman for sure. Jarrett Allen is restricted FA though, he’ll be here next season bud, Cavs will match any offer. You hope he demands a trade? Just so you’re team can have him?
And Cavs are a terrible organization? We like just won a Championship and have been in the playoffs 9 of the past 15 years. Your Warriors have 8. Also Cleveland fans are loyal, our owner cares about the team deeply, and our core young players is starting to look pretty good. Just because we have had a few bad seasons recently doesn’t make us a terrible franchise lol.
They used to call centers, pivots.
The definition of ‘pivot’ is now sneaking away toward Marty types, who pivot to new positions as necessary.
Warriors could use McGee. I was them I go for McGee and Love.
Nets have to find some depth. That was their big strength this yr. Dinwiddie out (who they could trade for player) and losing players. Their bench is taking a big hit. Claxton is a nice young big they have. I would go check out Faried. He’s not playing after turning down 4 mill from China team. I’m sure they will look at Shumpert. They can use D players.
Rockets were using 76ers Simmons as a tool to hook the 8 fishes – 8 future first round picks
I read a lot
Rockets are not interested Wall and Simmons combo
Both are Eastbricks – can’t shoot from outside
They treat Morey, Rivers and Brand like the fools
Nets 2022 pick is not a high pick. Bucks 2022 pick is not a high pick. Nets 2024 pick is not a high pick. Nets 2026 pick could be a high pick (lottery maybe). The swap in 2021 won’t happen. The swap in 2023 won’t happen. The swap in 2025 could happen. The swap in 2026 could happen. There are no swaps if Nets are better than Rockets. And they should be till 2026. As long as no one gets hurt. Realistically Rockets probably get just the 4 picks and no swaps at best one swap 2026. Out of those picks Only 2024 and 2026 have potential of being high picks. That’s if team blows up. Still #1 picks can always be used in future trades. So are beneficial to the team. So in Reality NBA basketball. It’s more noise than substance. A real contender needs their mid level exception salary slot more than their #1 pick. Cause a draft pick in 24-30 is not going to help your team compete. Like signing a 6 mill vet or two vets for 6 mill. Don’t get lost in the Numbers bro. Chillax
So Oladipo adds value to this trade. Rockets can showcase him till TD and get as much as they can. Or if he looks healthy and solid. They could offer a contract. A healthy Oladipo is a solid backcourt with Wall. So it’s worth looking at. I like both players as long as they are healthy.
The Celtics benefit from this trade. What they still need to be able to beat the Lakers and win a championship is a dominant big man. Tristan Thompson isn’t that guy. Cleveland now has Andre Drummond and Jarret Allen. They probably traded for Allen because they expect to lose Drummond to free agency. If they can extend Drummond, Allen becomes expendable. The Celtics could move into the championship round with either Drummond or Allen. A healthy Kemba Walker plus a lengthy bench would be enough to secure either center from Cleveland, although a third team may have to get involved. As far as the Nets go, I don’t see Durant, Irving, and Harden playing nice together in the long run, or the Nets prospering without Allen.
Cleveland isn’t giving Allen away and Drummond isn’t the answer to the Celtics middling issues. Drummond isn’t much of a positive at all really, he gets those boards but he also turns over that ball and stops that ball at an even greater clip. Celtics need a big move and their President of BB Opps ain’t about that life.
Drummond’s physical presence underneath and 15 boards a game are what the C’s are lacking. Allen is the Cav’s insurance in case they lose Drummond. If Drummond stays, Allen won’t be content to be a backup. The Cav’s won’t give him away, but they’ll trade him for more pressing needs.
I think Houston, Cleveland, and Indiana made out fine. Brooklyn is TBD- to be determined. If this trade doesn’t work out they are screwed. I think we should get some idea whether it’s a good or awful trade for them sooner rather than later. They gave up a lot for sure. It was huge gamble!
As a Lakers fan, naturally I don’t care for Ainge, but sometimes the best deals you make are the ones that you ultimately decide to pass on. The Celtics are fine and very tough just as they are. Like everybody else commenting here I can’t wait to see the new Nets in action, but I also share your concerns about team depth, chemistry, and team defense. All the intangibles and less glamorous things. How will the parts and personalities fit together? Should be interesting-