The Houston Rockets sent James Harden to the Nets in a four-team mega deal that also involved the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers, completing the departure of the disaffected Houston star and establishing a potential super team in Brooklyn, sources said. Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne from ESPN.
The Nets sent Houston a multiplayer and draft pick package that included point guard Caris LeVert, who was later traded to the Pacers for Victor Oladipo, sources told ESPN.
Center Jarrett Allen and forward Taurean Prince will move from the Nets to the Cavs in the deal, according to sources, as the Rockets host Cleveland point guard Dante Exum and Brooklyn forward Rodions Kurucs.
Houston will also receive Brooklyn’s three unprotected first-round draft picks (2022, 2024 and 2026) in the deal, plus pick changes in 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027, according to sources. The Rockets will also get Cleveland’s first-round pick in 2022, via the Milwaukee Bucks.
The deal reunites Harden with former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Kevin Durant and former Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, who is now Steve Nash’s assistant coach. The Nets also have All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, and they should be considered a serious contender for the title in the Eastern Conference.
The change comes a day after Harden said the Rockets “just weren’t good enough” after a landslide loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Ahead of the swap, Rockets coach Stephen Silas told reporters on Wednesday that Harden would not be coming to practice, saying, “We felt it was better for the group and better that James was not coming.”
Harden made it clear to owner Tilman Fertitta before the season that he did not believe in the direction and ability of the franchise to compete and that he would rather be traded to a team in a better position to win, sources said.