The tables have turned since the Houston Rockets and general manager Rafael Stone were mocked by many in early 2021 for what those critics viewed at the time as an underwhelming trade return for James Harden.
Today, barely over a calendar year later, the relationship and fit between the superstar guard and his new team, the Nets, has soured to the point that Brooklyn traded Harden to Philadelphia at Thursday’s trade deadline. With the 76ers, Harden reunites with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who was his general manager in Houston.
The implications to the current Rockets are clear. Since Houston chose a trade package for Harden that effectively allows them to control Brooklyn’s first-round draft assets through 2027, any transaction that materially changes the talent on that roster is relevant to the Rockets.
With Kyrie Irving unavailable for home games due to New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, Harden was one of only two All-Star and former MVP centerpieces on Brooklyn’s roster who could be considered full-time players, along with Kevin Durant. For the time being, Durant remains sidelined by a knee injury. While the Nets did receive Ben Simmons from the 76ers as part of Thursday’s trade, and he’s certainly a good player (when playing), their upside appears to be diminished.
The Brooklyn Nets are trading James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022
Thus, Thursday’s trade seems to take the Nets out of serious NBA championship contention — which, in the short-term, should boost the value of those first-round draft assets heading to Houston. It also doesn’t seem implausible that Durant, as we just saw with Harden, could eventually try to leverage his way elsewhere for a better shot to win.
That’s quite a turn of events relative to a year ago, when many around the NBA assumed that those first-round picks would be low in the order — due in large part to the steady and durable presence of Harden leading the roster. At the time, fans of the Rockets listened to all sorts of barbs about the trade from fans and media members of other teams.
That’s the glass-half-full scenario, of course. The glass-half-empty case is that Simmons, at 25 years old, is seven years younger than Harden — and if he succeeds in Brooklyn, it could make the draft assets that the later range of that 2022-2027 window less desirable than they might have been if Harden stayed and slowly had his game deteriorate due to aging.
The new starting lineups 👀
(via @wojespn) pic.twitter.com/kOngywHdcI
— ESPN (@espn) February 10, 2022
Needless to say, fans and media following the Rockets offered plenty of strong takes in the aftermath regarding what the most probable Houston implications would be. Meanwhile, some simply enjoyed seeing Brooklyn struggle with the consequences of Harden’s forced and messy departure (while under contract) in much the same way that Houston had to when the Nets lured him away only 13 months ago.
Scroll on for some of the immediate reaction from Houston.
