Now that a new Big Three is together in Brooklyn, Kyrie Irving will likely be asked to sacrifice to make it work, two NBA scouts told Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Today’s trade that reunites James Harden with Kevin Durant gives the Nets three elite offensive players, but they may not fit together smoothly.
“On paper obviously that team wins the East and probably the whole thing,” said Bryan Oringher, a former scout with the Raptors, Hawks and Wizards. “But it all depends if they’re willing to do a Warriors-type thing and all sacrifice. (Harden’s) obviously incredible, but none of them seem super happy without the ball.”
Irving missed a fifth straight game tonight for personal reasons, and his absence could be extended if the NBA decides he has to quarantine when he returns to the team, Lewis adds. Coach Steve Nash refused to address specifics about Irving during a session with the media.
“I haven’t had an opportunity to know any new details about Kyrie’s situation,” Nash said. “So I’ll just rely on the front office to learn more as we go. They’re the ones that are going to do the messaging on that front.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Durant couldn’t talk directly about the Harden deal after tonight’s game because it’s still not official, but he did speak briefly about his previous experience with Harden in Oklahoma City, saying, “It was fun,” Lewis tweets. “I’ve heard that that’s not even finalized yet, so I’ll talk about it another time,” Durant added (Twitter link).
- Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta wasn’t impressed by the players the Nets were offering, such as Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie, who is sidelined with a torn ACL, Lewis adds in a separate story. That explains why Allen wound up in Cleveland and LeVert was sent to Indiana, while Houston acquired Victor Oladipo and a parcel of draft picks.
- Today’s trade leaves the Nets with three open roster spots, and free agent Iman Shumpert could be worth considering, writes Alex Schiffer of The Athletic. Shumpert played 13 games for Brooklyn last season and brought a strong defensive presence to the team. He briefly played alongside Harden in Houston, and was a teammate of Irving and Joe Harris in Cleveland.
One of them (probably Kyrie) will get hurt soon so sharing the ball won’t be that big of an issue.
Harden rarely gets hurt, he’s far more durable than Kyrie.
Lol is that you Houston MVP? Lol you are so ashamed of your team you tookthe Logo down! Lol say it ain’t so.
“Stons” Fan Lol Houston MVP is the reason why I’ve been looking forward to Harden finally being traded.
I like the new name. Although I think I would like Walladipo Boogie a little more. Sounds like one of those early novelty rock and roll songs.
Walladipo Boogie is legit a great name, he def should change it to that, great one hiflew!
Durable?
Durable?
Kryrie chooses not to play!
If only Tillman would sell the Rockets to an owner who actually likes and understands basketball, like a Mark Cuban.
Nope. He’s going to make all the decisions, fire anyone who challenges him, and then blame the staff he never empowered when the team fails.
It’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.
You forgot the part where he does his weekly CNBC appearance to talk about how great he is doing!
I did! My bad.
Jerry Jones of the NBA.
“If only 95% of all US pro sports team owners would sell their team to an owner who actually likes and understands the game, and understands that wisely spending money on the right players wins titles, like a Joe Lacob or Mark Cuban.”
Fixed for you :)
Couple of current free agents might make sense for Brooklyn, needing some defense at the 4/3…RHJ could make sense going back there, or maybe a MKG…someone along those lines. Dont think they need a guard like Shumpert, with Bruce Brown, TLC, and Tyler Johnson on the roster
They could also use a big that can defend pick and roll, like a Noah Vonleh
would love to see RHJ back personally
anyone want to give og michael beasley another shot.
Jarrett Allen new contract prediction
Real value 4 year $60 million
Market value 4 year $90 million – overpay value
Based on great potential
He is the only big man who can protect the rim and guard the perimeter
Rockets owner is cheap and won’t overpay him
76ers would have to spend $38 million additional salary if the deal goes down
Harden 41 million
Simmons and Thybulle 32 million
9m plus tax
Then 76ers have zero available first round pick
The nets will need a psychiatrist to intervene
Yup.
Well, if the *owner* doesn’t think the players are good, than they’re obviously not good. I mean, why would Houston want three starting caliber young guys with upside when he could have another moody scoring guard and an expiring contract??
Ladies and gentleman, Tilman “James Dolan the Third” Fertitta!!!
Because he remember hearing something about Oladipo somewhere, sometime and he’d never heard of the 3 young guys.
As a Cavs fan, I’m much obliged to the *gov’nor* for not being familiar with Jarrett Allen!
Two problems for the Nets – 1) there is only one ball and both Irving and Harden need it and 2) defense
The last time the Nets made a deal like this the Celtics ended up with Brown and Tatum.
And if there’s one word that EVERYONE would use to describe Kyrie, it’s “sacrifice”.
I’m sure all of the Celtics fans know that as well as anyone. It’s amazing how the Cavs managed to win a ring with Kyrie, but that was only because they had LeBron. KD and Harden will only work in Brooklyn if they can find a way to rid themselves of Irving.
Spot on, by the time Kyrie’s contract was up in Boston I was so sick of him and didn’t even care he was leaving…..I wish Ainge felt the same way at the trade deadline that year.
Kyrie for Westbrook is still by far the best and funniest trade the Nets could make next.
Even though the Rockets are losing quite a bit on offense with Russ in Washington and Harden in Brooklyn, their backcourt did get way better defensively with Oladipo and Wall.
You finally said something that wasn’t utterly stupid. Congratulations.
and of course it ignores that the Rockets are not a playoff contender anymore.
Oladipo and Tucker will most likely be traded next. Smartest move would be getting as many picks in the next draft as possible, as its stacked compared to the year before.
Any team with Harden will NEVER win a championship. Great scorer, but not a very good team player.
He will get worn down in a 7 game series.
Strong agree, Harden’s stat-padding style gets all the headlines from ESPN (usually in losses – terrible NBA media trend they don’t understand damages the game), but it’s proven that it simply doesn’t win games against teams who play team-oriented basketball.
To me Harden’s career is summed up in 3 examples:
– 27-straight missed 3’s vs. GSW, 2018 game 7 WCF
– 3 turnovers in final 3 mins vs. GSW, 2019 G6 semis
– 13 turnovers in elimination game vs. GSW, 2015 1st round playoffs
The good news is it seems like Kyrie has no problem sacrificing playing time.
Kyrie will have no problem sacrificing. He has sacrificed the past several games altogether. Well, I guess since he still gets paid it’s not really a sacrifice.
Kylie – finally start his own league or ship off to another planet. Hear me now believe me later ;)
Five words to describe this Nets group. Train wreck waiting to happen.
Sillivanesque post of the day.
“Sillivanesque post of the day” – def best 5 words you could have used here – hahaha
Let me try.
Five Words to Describe this Nets group.
Bearded man has no beard.
That’s what you get, Curtis…Marty supports you.
I don’t get the beard 5.
Here’s my 5: How will Dinwiddie manage this.
Go get Westbrook now
Kyrie for Russ to reunite the first big 3 would be the funniest trade ever.
I have to agree with you there, Marty.
Kyrie will complain that he’s not touching the ball enough, and will ask for a trade by the All Star break… That would help Brooklyn regain some of the first rounders they have up in the Harden deal
*gave up
If Irving doesn’t collapse from “the vapors” first.
“Oh, Lordy, I got the vapors!”
can’t complain about not touching the ball enough if you’re not playing.
Think Oladipo is a long-term play for Houston? Or do they flip him at the deadline for someone under contract for a few more years?
Oladipo for Oubre – O!
Probably depends on how he meshes with Wall. Oladipo could take a serious Beal type step forward with his career playing with Wall. A lot of people forget that Beal was a good, but not great, player for the first 4-5 years of his career. In fact, most pundits considered him something of a slight disappointment for a #3 pick until he truly broke out in his 6th year.
Or he could flop and they could flip him for a prospect/pick(s) and some salary. Kevin Love? Al Horford? Harrison Barnes?
Shumpert might be a decent end of rotation guy.
But who are the big men? Deandre Jordan? He recently got benched and even didn’t play in one game. DJ can still play some but he can’t be relied upon. Who is out there? Dedmond? Henson? Jordan bell?
It’s going to take awhile for this mix to work. Or not work. But they need to fill out their bench. They have a young big who can backup Jordan. Prince, LeVert, Dinwiddie, Allen were all part of their strength. A deep team. So they have to readjust around the big three. Defense is always going to be an ongoing issue IMO. As long as they play together and fit in. They can outscore teams. But to win championships you gotta make stops. I’m a DAntoni fan but he’s never quite appreciated that aspect. Best case for Nets. They come together and contend. They can be a dangerous team in playoffs. But I don’t see them winning it this yr. It’s still a team game. And we all know a fat Harden, a looney Kyrie, I don’t need Warriors KD. Could blow up Bklyn like Biggie blew up BedStuy.
Perhaps Fertitta likes draft picks because (unlike players) you don’t have to pay them. It’s perfectly understandable that a team would want to clear its books entering a rebuild. The salaries of LeVert and Prince, plus Allen’s cap hold, would eliminate any cap space they’d have next year.
But if the idea was to compete this or next year, then the second part of this deal – flipping LeVert and Allen (for a Bucks 1st, the current version of VO and taking on Prince’s $$) – is one of the worst trades of the year to date. Neutralizes the first part of the deal, which I’d say was a good one for the Rockets.
Yes the trade had kind of a tail end that worked out nicely for the bystander Cavs. I presume the full trade was acceptable to Fertitta because Oladipo was a name player and to the Nets maybe because the Cavs are not viewed as a threat. If the latter is the case, then their flopping around in recent years has paid off!
Nets need more bigs/defense. I trust the gm to get it done. My guess is they may wait until a few guys get released/bought out. As far as free agents, I see Vonleh, Dedmon, Rondae Hollis Jefferson, Michael Kidd Gilchrist. There’s also the possibility of packaging DinWiddie plus Shamet to acquire another higher paid player from a team looking to shed salary.
They do, trade for a good center