Our Media Roundtable series gathers intel and opinions from some of the top basketball minds covering the league and with the James Harden trade abruptly changing the NBA’s landscape, we had to get some rapid analysis:
Did Brooklyn give up too much for James Harden?
Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic | @Duane Rankin: The Nets are trying to win a championship now, not later. So whatever they had to do to make that happen is worth it.
Austin Krell, The Painted Lines | @NBAKrell: It depends which bird’s eye angle you view the deal from. On one hand, Brooklyn maintains its star core and Joe Harris and adds a perennial MVP candidate. It’s hard to lose that trade. On the other hand, they are woefully thin in size and have depleted all attractive trade capital that they could negotiate with down the line.
On paper, sure, the Nets are stacked. What happens if they discover that they need an additional piece to fill in a hole they uncover later in the season? What happens if there is an injury? Are the Nets prepared to rely on Reggie Perry or Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot for significant minutes? That’s a legitimate concern. For now, I’ll say the Nets are the most top-heavy team in the East, maybe in the whole NBA. When you can give yourself that luxury, there’s nary a price too steep.
Sameer Kumar, Nets Correspondent, FortyEightMinute.com | @S_Kumar2: Yes, they gave up a lot of assets, but this was a move they needed to make. You’re getting a perennial MVP candidate to maximize the chances of winning a championship while you have Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on your team.
The Nets can’t worry about losing their picks until 2027. They need to worry about the now which is winning a championship with KD on their roster, and the best possible way to do that is to have two of the best scorers in the league right by your side. Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen will be big losses, but Harden is a clear upgrade and Allen can be replaceable with the eventual emergence of Nicolas Claxton and Reggie Perry. A championship within the next couple of years is completely worth losing draft picks over.
Chris Crouse, Sixers/Wizards, FortyEightMinutes.com | @NBACrouse: Not really. Harden is a top talent in the league, arguably someone who could easily have one or two more MVPs on his resume. For the most part, the picks they gave up, aren’t likely to be that great.
The 2026 first-rounder and 2027 pick-swap have potential, as both Durant and Harden will be in their late 30’s, however, projecting five-to-six years down the road is a fool’s task. Remember six years ago when the Hawks, Cavs, and Grizzlies, Warriors were in the Eastern and Western Conference Finals, respectively? There’s no telling what the league will look like by the time the Nets’ stars age.
Non-Nets Winner of the Trade?
Rankin: Indiana. They got the best player with the most upside out of the deal in LeVert, who can immediately start. When TJ Warren comes back, they’ll have Brogdon at the 1, Levert at 2, Warren 3, Sabonis 4, and Turner at the 5. That’s a serious starting unit.
Krell: Stephen Silas is a no-brainer for me. Silas is held in high regard around the NBA, and he’s finally received his chance to lead a team. This is just about as chaotic a start to his head coaching career as he could’ve dreamt of, and he now has universal buy-in with his roster. Any chance he had of succeeding predicated upon either Harden deciding to buy in, or getting Harden off the roster. He got the latter, and now he can concentrate on his job.
Kumar: The Rockets. The Rockets were able to find a suitable replacement for James Harden for the immediate future in Victor Oladipo. Oladipo has been great this season and looks to be finding his groove back after a long time off, so with Harden gone, Oladipo will have all the opportunity to take his game to the next level and potentially raise his trade value to give the Rockets even more assets to help their rebuild. Where the biggest potential payoff for the Rockets might be is when they’ll have control of the better pick between them and the Nets from 2025-2027, as Kevin Durant and Harden will be past their 35th birthdays at that point.
Crouse: I went back-and-forth between the Pacers and Cavs and went with Cleveland. The Pacers surely made out, netting LeVert for a player who had one foot out the door, but it’s not like they were certain to hold on to Oladipo and just watch that happen; other deals were possible. As for Cleveland, this is a home run. Exum has shown flashes but because of health, he can’t be relied on. Giving up him and Milwaukee’s 2022 pick for Allen and Prince is such a shrewd deal that gives them the Cavs a center of the future and a pretty good rotation wing on a reasonable contract.
Would a Ben Simmons-led Package from the Sixers Have Been Better for the Rockets? Would Another Trade Have Been Better?
Rankin: They had to go to four teams to even pull the trade off. So finding four teams who can make this, let alone three or two, could’ve been an even greater challenge. Had Philadelphia started slow, you make that deal, but they’re playing well. Doc Rivers will figure out how to best use Simmons. You don’t part with a talent like who hasn’t really even scratched the surface of his offensive potential. He’s making All-Star games without a jump shot. Imagine what’s going to happen when he gets one.
Krell: My stance usually is that tangible assets are greater than future draft equity. An established star, as flawed as he may be, is something you can build upon. Picks, theoretically, serve that purpose, too. But, you better hope you hit on enough of them to make trading a generational player for an expiring tangible worth it, especially when you could’ve had a 24-year-old star instead. There are a number of packages that would be worth discussing, but I had been fascinated by the idea of a package of Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman, Minnesota’s first-round pick in 2021, and another future first-rounder from Golden State for The Beard. Houston gets likely lottery picks, a very promising rookie, and a bad contract as salary filler, Golden State gets to extend its championship window by another two seasons.
Kumar: Ben Simmons would’ve been a much better get than anyone they could’ve gotten right now. Plain and simple. You bring him in and figure out the rest. Sure, his fit with John Wall would be questionable at best, but that shouldn’t stop you from acquiring one of the best young players in this league. Especially in a rebuild. If Simmons just doesn’t fit your team or timeline, you can always flip him to another team and gain assets that way. An already drafted young star could even be made available in a potential deal for Simmons. Otherwise, Houston is going to have to hope that the Nets just collapse later this decade to reap the benefits of making this trade now, and with Brooklyn being in a major market, they might already be alluring to star free agents at that time.
Crouse: There are mixed reports of Simmons being on the table, though it sounds like he was and Houston passing on him is a head-scratcher. He’s going to be an MVP in this league and the Rockets’ best hope now is that someone they draft over the next few years ends up being as good as Simmons, something that’s far from certain.
Who’s Your Favorite Now to Win the East? NBA Finals?
Rankin: Lakers will still be the favorite because of Anthony Davis. Brooklyn still has no one who can check him 1-on-1. No one has anyone who can check Davis 1-on-1 and he’s playing alongside LeBron James and talented role players who know their roles. Favorites in the East? Brooklyn and Boston were my favorites going into the season, but with COVID-19, anything is possible just like in the bubble. Still like Boston with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, two young ballers. Will be even better with a healthy Kemba Walker. Like how Joel Embiid is playing. So he gives the 76ers a chance in the East. Giannis isn’t going anywhere. Milwaukee will be in the hunt and a healthy Miami team is dangerous, too. East is still wide open, but Brooklyn is definitely standing up right now after that trade. Kyrie will be back.
Krell: I think the East is still open. Brooklyn, as sexy as their starting five is, is woefully thin on its bench. Giannis has come to play, but the Bucks are struggling a bit. I still don’t know how credible their closing lineup is come playoff time. Miami is currently under .500. Boston looks strong but has holes. Philly got off to a hot start but lacks a real perimeter creator and secondary scorer. Right now, I’ll give it to the Nets because of how stacked their starting unit is, but I don’t think the conference has already been won by any means. My favorite to win the Finals is the Lakers, they remained hungry this offseason even after winning a title. They got better, and LeBron is able to preserve himself by playing off-ball with Dennis Schroder arriving. Perhaps most importantly of all, Anthony Davis’ answers in recent postgame availabilities indicate a team and culture that is not above accountability after hanging a banner.
Kumar: A lot of this will depend on when Kyrie Irving comes back and if he and the organization can put the last couple of weeks in the past. I personally think everything is going to be okay between Irving and the team, and with that being the case, I think the Nets will have plenty of firepower to come out of the East this season despite being down Spencer Dinwiddie. The Heat, Bucks, and Celtics are scary, but it’s hard to envision them stopping a big three of this magnitude if they all perform to their fullest potential together. I think the Lakers will repeat though, however, since they’re all at full health at this given moment. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are hard to handle as it is, but I just think that the depth the Lakers will have compared to Brooklyn’s this year will put them over the top.
Crouse: The Lakers are still the favorites to win the title but it would be an upset to watch them in the Finals later this year and not have it be against the Nets. Brooklyn’s rotation is thin outside their stars and Milwaukee actually matches up with Steve Nash‘s club on paper. Still, the Nets are the new frontrunners in the East (provided the Irving returns and is happy).
