As you may have heard, the Rockets, Nets, Pacers and Cavaliers have agreed on a four-team box office trade. James Harden is headed to Brooklyn. Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, and a lot of selections went to Houston. Caris LeVert and a second-round selection will go to Indiana. Jarrett Allen i Taurus Prince head to Cleveland.
The Nets and 76ers were the two teams fighting for Harden’s services at the end of the race, but Philly felt the Rockets were using them as leverage to extract so many assets from the Nets, Harden’s favorite destination, according to a source of the league on HoopsHype.
According to an executive, Philadelphia had a chance to improve his options as a candidate by not getting Harden.
“I think Philly missed an opportunity and is now trapped in the middle of the east,” an Eastern Conference executive told HoopsHype. “They are not as good as Brooklyn, Milwaukee, Boston and, in the end, Miami. They could be the No. 5 seed at the end of the season. Ben Simmons he hasn’t improved in any area of his game since he entered the league. Today he is the same player as in his debut, and teams have discovered him in the playoffs. That’s why they won’t go very far. “
HoopsHype spoke with several executives about their reactions to the trade and what it means for the four teams that participated in the future.
“I like the deal between the Pacers and Houston,” another Eastern Conference executive told HoopsHype. “Brooklyn gave up rescuing a king. I’m not sure why he took over Cleveland Taurus Prince as well as giving up an unprotected selection change. Harden is the best player on offer, but Brooklyn is there and has no protection in the future. Cleveland will seek to abandon her Andre Drummond, i Jarrett Allen he has a bright future in the league. “
Below is a detail of what the trade means for each team involved.
Brooklyn Networks
Brooklyn pushed all his chips into the center of the table to acquire Harden and form a superstar trio Kevin Durant i Kyrie Irving.
“It’s better to win it in the next two years,” a rival Eastern Conference executive told HoopsHype. “It will be interesting to see how all these players and personalities play out.”
During, Irving and Harden, each have a player option for the 2022-23 season.
Irving has been out of the team for personal reasons, but was seen in several unmasked videos at a birthday party of his sister, which the league is investigating.
Harden rubbed the former Rockets teammates John Wall i DeMarcus Cousins the wrong way.
From a chemistry perspective, Brooklyn now has three superstar players who all demand the ball at an elite pace and will have to sacrifice themselves to run the trio on the court. Harden ranks eighth in the NBA usage rate (30.69), Durant ranks 12th (30.16) and Irving ranks 16th (29.29).
Harden reunites with his former Thunder, Durant and teammates Jeff Green, and his former Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni in Brooklyn.
LeVert was the first draft pick of the Sean Marks era in Brooklyn after the negotiation Thaddeus Young to acquire the Indiana national team in 2016. It should also be noted that LeVert and Irving share the same agency, Roc Nation, as a representative. Without Allen, look for the Nets to play DeAndre Jordan and green in the center.
Houston Rockets
Houston moved a disgruntled star who was causing obvious tension in the locker room, stored a bunch of sniper boats for the future to use or turn over in future trades, and added Oladipo, an All-Star, who was two times.
Oladipo will be one of the best unrestricted free agents on the market after the season, as stated in our HoopsHype 2021 ranking.
“I’m not sure what’s going on there,” an Eastern Conference executive told HoopsHype. “They may just want to withdraw money, so it took Oldipo to have financial flexibility next year. Or they could try to re-sign it and see it as a fit with Wall.”
Several executives believe the Rockets will end up operating PJ Tucker before the commercial term.
“I think Houston can move PJ to a separate deal later,” an executive told HoopsHype. “It will have value in the East, especially to fight Giannis and Durant. I can see Miami go after PJ and maybe even Boston.”
As noted in mid-December on HoopsHype, several teams have expressed interest in negotiating with Tucker and, if he stays with Houston during the season, is open to re-signing with the Rockets in the offseason.
Indiana Pacers
Rumors said Oladipo wanted to leave Indiana for a while, which he denied. According to a Pacers teammate, there was no tension in the locker room with Oladipo despite rumors circulating about his future.
“He came into camp with a renewed mindset and committed to the team, without tension,” a Pacers player told HoopsHype on condition of anonymity, as the trade is not yet official. “I think the trade surprised us all, but it’s part of the business. We all loved Vic in the dressing room ”.
In the end, though, the Pacers moved their star guard before losing him for nothing during that low season.
LeVert has a chance to share the back track Malcolm Brogdon as a full-time incumbent and is owed $ 17.5 million next season and $ 18.8 million for 2022-23. Brogdon’s ability to shoot, paired with LeVert’s ability to cut and create outside the dribble, should combine well.
“Great pick,” the Pacers player told HoopsHype. “I’ve been a fan of his game for a long time. He has a lot of dogs and he will adapt to our young core ”.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Several Eastern Conference executives believe the writing is on the wall about Drummond’s future in Cleveland after the team gave up the first round to acquire Allen, who is five years younger. Drummond will become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
“Drummond is definitely out of Cleveland,” predicted an Eastern Conference executive. “Cleveland wouldn’t give up the former if it didn’t want Allen in the long run.”
Allen will be one of the best restricted free agents on the market this offseason after Cleveland extended a $ 5.66 million rating offer to him. Prince is owed $ 13 million next season.
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