After all of the rumblings and speculation in Houston, the inevitable finally happened. James Harden was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in a blockbuster four team deal. The Nets gave up Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen and a few others along with four first round picks in exchange for Harden. LeVert went to the Rockets and Allen went to the Cavs. The Rockets then flipped LeVert for Victor Oladipo. At first glance, people may think that the Nets are the clear winners of the trade. They now have three all NBA players on the roster and have the most talent on paper in a now competitive eastern conference. But don’t be fooled by the hype. This team is going to be all bark and no bite, the Nets will badly lose this trade if they do not win a championship.
The Nets have signed away their future to the Rockets. This trade signifies they are trying to win now, and are going all out for a championship. It is all or nothing. But the question is, does this really put them in the driver’s seat? First there is the question of whether this team will be able to contain three eccentric, ball dominant personalities, on and off the court. The Nets now have three score-first players to distribute to and now have gotten even worse on defense, parting ways with LeVert and Allen. To make matters more concerning, Kyrie and Harden have been major distractions off the court recently. Both players have publicly broken Covid protocol, Kyrie does not feel like playing basketball apparently, and Harden will not pass up an opportunity to throw his teammates under a bus or go party at a club. There’s no question these guys can fill out a stat sheet, but will they really be able to send their egos to the door to make it work?
Another issue that will affect them more down the road is the fact that they have given up numerous first round picks again to make a blockbuster trade. Sound familiar? As most of you can probably recall every time you watch Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown play, the Nets gave up three first round picks to the Celtics in 2013 for an aging Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. This experiment turned out to be an utter disaster and quite possibly the worst trade of all time. So why did the Nets decide to repeat history and take another massive risk? You can understand the logic behind why they did it. Harden is still in his prime coming off an MVP caliber season, where Pierce and Garnett were 36 and 37, respectively. But, the same risks still remain, especially when their personalities are taken into account. Harden is 31, and when looking at past patterns in basketball history, he has likely three more seasons of staying at an all-NBA level of play. However, his aggressive offensive play style will age him faster than superstars like KD and LeBron, and he already is not in the greatest physical shape of his career. There is a greater chance of decline then the Nets and fans would like to admit.
The last reason this trade could easily backfire is the stiff competition in the league. Since the end of the Warriors dynasty, there hasn’t been a clear top dog. The Lakers could be that next team, but are still flawed and have to prove that their title wasn’t just a product of the bubble format. But point being, the league is wide open. While you could attribute that to a positive for this trade, it hurts the Nets when looking at the Eastern conference. The Bucks, Celtics and Sixers are all playing well right now and do not have to deal with the potential chemistry issues that could exist on the Nets. All of these young teams are on the rise and have a bright future, where the Nets have a shorter time frame for their championship window with their stars being older. I think the chemistry issues will pose a problem for this team, and I like the prospects of these three teams more than I like the potentially dysfunctional Nets.
If the Nets win a championship, I will eat my words on the criticisms of this team and pay them the respect where it is due. I do understand why they made the trade. But when I look at this team, I see a team that is trending towards a flashy second round exit. Harden has never won anything, Kyrie is a complete wildcard, and KD is aging. I will go on record to say that the Nets are going to lose this trade, and this could possibly be another huge blunder and contender for one of the worst trades ever made.