Today I am going to tell you why the Brooklyn Nets’ blockbuster trade is risky as they come.
Near the beginning of the afternoon today, an already pressing NBA issue began to hit the runway. 2017-18 NBA MVP James Harden was rumored to be in some serious trade packages. That included other all-stars mentioned by reliable sources. Harden has undeniably caused chaos and instability among both the Houston organization and in the locker room.
Harden stated that he did not think the state of the Rockets could be fixed. He while added that he put in his best efforts. This offseason does not reflect the stance that Harden took on the podium last night. Showing up late to training camp, going missing, throwing a ball at a teammate and trading for a player you then deem yourself “uninterested” in playing with does not show effort.
In his tenure with Houston, Harden enjoyed nearly a decade of playoff basketball in which he made the WCF two times. It is unfair to say that the Rockets have not built around him.
Packaging for Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and John Wall at his command should be saying enough. Signing DeMarcus Cousins and Christian Wood should be saying enough. Trading for Robert Covington frantically mid-season should be saying enough. Paying Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon the big bucks to stay should be saying enough. Harden has been granted superstar after superstar after role player to play with. At this point, the issue of the Houston Rockets clearly seems to be leadership.
One would think pairing Harden with two of the world’s most creative scorers would practically but guarantee Brooklyn some silverware. However, with Kyrie’s recent spiral off the deep end along with KD’s recent injury history, this deal proves to be extremely risky. On top of this, the Nets traded two fantastic players in Jarrett Allen and Caris Levert away.
Even after this, they traded FOUR unprotected picks along with FOUR pick swaps to Houston. I will not rule out the potential of this deal. Keep in mind that the Nets will have zero draft capital and cap flexibility to build around their fantastic core. So much could go wrong here.
It’s championship or bust season in Brooklyn.
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