The NBA landscape just changed wildly in the span of a few minutes, with a barrage of trades taking place that saw some players change multiple teams all at once. The key piece to note — James Harden, after requesting a trade and throwing a fit for several weeks, finally gets his wish. Harden has been traded to the New Jersey Nets, where he will form a lethal combination of he, former teammate Kevin Durant, and artist/activist/philosopher/basketball player Kyrie Irving.
As reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Rockets, Nets, and Cavaliers formulated a three-way trade.
Rockets receive: Caris LeVert, Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, and a slew of picks, including:
Brooklyn’s unprotected firsts in 2022, 2024, and 2026, and Cleveland’s 2022 first-round pick via the Bucks. The Nets and Houston are also swapping first-round picks in 2021, 2023, 2025, and 2027.
Cavaliers receive: Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince.
Nets receive: James Harden, 2024 second-round pick from Cavaliers.
That alone would have been a massive day in the NBA, but wait — THERE’S MORE! To further expand their day, the Rockets then flipped Caris LeVert to the Pacers for Victor Oladipo.
It is completely and entirely fair to say that this is the largest trade in NBA history in terms of value and moving pieces. Truly an insane day in the NBA.