All the Picks… Rating Each Team in the Harden Blockbuster

Ball Eyes North
6 min readJan 14, 2021
Anthony J. Causi

An NBA-Twitter-Shaking trade occurred Wednesday afternoon between the Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Indiana Pacers. After a standoff lasting weeks, James Harden’s tenure in Houston finally comes to an end after an awkward situation became untenable. With so many moving parts, it is hard to know who wins and loses in this trade (and we won’t have that answer for a while), but we can still rate how each team did on this wild day in the NBA.

Houston Rockets

Sent: James Harden, 2nd Rd. Pick

Received: Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, 4 1st round picks, 4 pick swaps

We may as well start with the team at the center of it all. After a blowout loss to the Lakers, it was time to send Harden away after his postgame comments indicated he was no longer interested in helping the Rockets. Everyone expected James Harden to command a haul of picks in any trade, but seeing it happen is still a bit shocking. Houston now controls every Brooklyn 1st round pick through 2027, and Milwaukee’s 1st round pick in 2022 (via Cleveland). While the Nets’ 1sts over the next couple of years are unlikely to be valuable, starting in potentially 2023 or 2024 those picks could look very appetizing. James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant can ALL opt-out of their contracts after next season. If one or two of them leaves, Houston could be in a fantastic position moving forward with all of that draft capital.

The players Houston received are the only part of this trade that gives me hesitation to crown the Rockets. Exum and Kurucs are not likely to be a part of the team’s long term plans to compete. Oladipo is their prized player acquisition in this deal, but he can leave after this season. With his stated preference to play for a contender, he could sign elsewhere in the offseason if Houston is unable to compete effectively. A core of Wall, Oladipo, Tucker, and Wood is probably not enough to do more than compete for the playoffs in the Western Conference, and if any of those players needs to miss time with injury/COVID protocols they do not have the depth to make up for it. No one would be surprised if there are more moves to be made in Houston, and Oladipo could be on the move again if their goal is to become younger and more flexible. For now with their haul of picks they earn an 8/10 rating.

Brooklyn Nets

Sent: Caris Levert, Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince, Rodions Kurucs, 3 1st Rd. picks and 4 1st. Rd. pick swaps

Received: James Harden, 2nd Rd. Pick

Wow, the Nets went all in. What a gamble they have made on this Harden, Irving, Durant core. On one hand, James Harden is an offense unto himself and would nearly guarantee 50 wins in a regular season even with an average team around him. But he also has a spotty playoff resume and it is not abundantly clear how the 3 superstars will coexist on offense or provide value on defense. If the goal is a championship this season or next, Harden may not bring them much closer than they were. If that is the case, then mortgaging the entire future for Harden becomes a horrible gamble. There is a world in which Harden is happy playing out his NBA career in Brooklyn, a place he wanted to go, and he is a good teammate who resigns another contract after next season. If Harden stays they will likely keep Durant as well, and the two of them can keep the Nets in contention for years to come.

Along with all of the picks they gave up (an amazing stat: the Nets will only have controlled their 1st round pick in one draft between 2014–2027, and they used that pick to draft Jarrett Allen in 2017, who they just traded), the Nets also depleted their roster depth. Caris Levert is a starter-level player who was a flamethrower off the bench for Brooklyn so far this season. Jarrett Allen is a blossoming rim protector who was key to the Nets defense. Taurean Prince and Rodions Kurucs were nice players to have at the back of the rotation in case of injury to a rotation player. All of that is gone. The only center on the team with real NBA experience is Deandre Jordan, who likely can’t be trusted to play more than half of a game now. Jeff Green can fill in there, and Durant can steal a few minutes at center in an emergency. There will be nights when they will get dominated down low and a team’s bench players may overwhelm the Nets undermanned bench, but they are betting that Irving, Durant, and Harden together will be enough to win most nights. Based on the huge risk Brooklyn is taking, they receive a 5/10 rating.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Sent: Dante Exum, Milwaukee’s 2022 1st Rd. Pick

Received: Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince

As trade talks progressed on the day of the trade, there was a lot of speculation regarding who would be the “facilitating team(s)” in the trade to take on extra salary and scoop up an asset or two for their troubles. There were two surprise teams that jumped in on the deal. The first one being the Cavaliers. No one assumed a team with all of the centers would take on the one center in this deal, but that is exactly what they did. This was a fantastic grab for Cleveland as Allen is the perfect rim protecting/rim rolling center to play along side their dynamic young guards. They will be mocked a little bit for their glut of big men (Andre Drummond, Javale McGee, Larry Nance Jr, Kevin Love, Thon Maker) but Allen is the future of the team and the rest of those players can be moved or will leave in free agency. They only needed to give away Exum who has largely been a non-factor in his career, and a 2022 1st Rd. pick from Milwaukee that is likely to be in the late 20’s in that draft. A small price to pay for a starting center for now and the future. Acquiring Prince in the middle of a bounce back season for the young forward is icing on the cake. The Cavs did very well to swoop in and take advantage of this trade, so for that reason they receive a 10/10 rating.

Indiana Pacers

Sent: Victor Oladipo

Received: Caris Levert, 2nd Rd. Pick

Indiana stayed mostly on the fringes of this trade, but were able to use it as a way to solve their own problem. There were rumors prior to the season that Oladipo either wanted to be traded or would leave after the season. Either way, the Pacers knew they probably needed to move him during the season. Credit to Victor, he showed up and played well early this season and therefore was able to be traded for equal value. Oladipo may not love the situation into which he was moved in Houston, but he can still leave after this year if he chooses. Indiana was able to turn Dipo into Caris Levert who is a quality player that can slide into the starting lineup immediately, and who is on a reasonable contract for 2 more years after this year. Levert has been an improving scorer and defender for several years now, and really showed a breakout in the NBA’s Orlando bubble as he led the depleted Nets to the playoffs. For more analysis on Levert’s fit into the Pacers offense, read Caitlin Cooper’s article about that very thing! I had hoped for the Pacers sake that they may end up with more future draft capital from dealing Oladipo, but ending up with a quality player out of the deal is also shrewd. They receive a 9/10 rating.

-Jerry W.

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Ball Eyes North

Analyzing the Minnesota Timberwolves and greater NBA from a fan’s perspective. Twitter: @balleyesnorth Email: balleyesnorth@gmail.com Website: balleyesnorth.com