Nine years ago, the Houston Rockets acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder a player that would go on to have individual success was a major reason the Rockets went from irrelevant to title contenders. After last season’s rough finish though, which was followed by major changes to the team, that said perennial All-Star and MVP candidate wanted out, and wanted to be rejoin his former teammate and former fellow Kia MVP for three seasons. He got his wish on Thursday as he was dealt to a team that he hopes to aide in winning a title this season.
In a four-team deal with the Rockets,
Cleveland Cavaliers, and Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, the Brooklyn Nets
acquired 2018 Kia MVP and scoring champion the last three seasons in guard
James Harden, reuniting him with his teammate from 2009-12 with the Thunder and
fellow perennial All-Star guard Kyrie Irving.
The Nets also acquired a 2024 Second-Round
pick from the Cavaliers and sent center Jarrett Allen and forward Taurean
Prince to Cleveland.
The Rockets acquired from the Nets
guard/forward Caris LeVert, forward Rodions Kurucs, three First-Round picks
(2022, 2024, and 2026), and four First-Round pick swaps (2021, 2023, 2025, and
2027). They also acquired from the Cavaliers guard Dante Exum, and a 2022
First-Round pick (via Milwaukee Bucks).
It is reported that this deal included a
fourth team in the Pacers, who shipped two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo to the
Rockets in exchange for LeVert and a 2023 Second-Round pick from the Rockets.
With this bold move, the Nets will take to
the hardwood a lineup that features three players capable of scoring 25-plus
points on a nightly basis that rivals any so-called dynamic trios in recent
seasons.
Harden joined Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady
(2004-05) as the only players in the last 40 seasons to change teams after winning
the scoring title the previous seasons. McGrady was dealt from the Orlando
Magic to ironically enough the Houston Rockets.
Harden’s 34.3 points a season ago is
second only to Wilt Chamberlin’s 36.9 scoring average in 1963-64 to play for
multiple teams the next season when leading the NBA in scoring average the
previous season. Third on that list is Allen Iverson’s 33.0 scoring average
with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Nets with Durant and Harden teaming up again are the first team in NBA history to pair two players to each win three or more scoring title, with Harden having led “The Association” in points per game average the last three seasons. Durant has led the NBA in points per game four times in his career. Durant and Harden have accounted for seven of the last 11 scoring titles.
The goal of this big move to acquire
Harden, coupled with the signings of Durant and Irving last offseason was to
gear up for a run at the NBA championship with three of the highest paid
players in the NBA, who are under contract through the 2021-22 season, where
they can opt out and become unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2022,
with Harden and Durant both earning over $40 million each of the next two
seasons.
“It means a lot,” Harden said in his Nets
welcome virtual presser on Friday. “Just coming from eight years in Houston,
and then having a fresh start with some unbelievable talent, and obviously the
coaching staff, the front office from top to bottom. The welcome has been
amazing. So, it’s a fresh start for me to go out there and ultimately have a
chance to compete at a title.”
Having to piece this team together, that
features three players that have a combined 24 All-Star Selections; 18 All-NBA
Selections; two Kia Rookie of the Year Awards; and two Kia MVP Awards between
them for this championship for the Nets (8-6) is rookie head coach and Hall of
Famer Steve Nash, who declined to discuss the acquisition of Harden in the
team’s 116-109 win versus the New York Knicks (5-6) on Wednesday night on ESPN,
behind the 26 points, six assists, and two block shots by Durant on 10 for 18
from the field.
The former NBA floor general and two-time
Kia MVP will have to put all of his knowledge from the hardwood and create an
offensive and defensive philosophy that brings the best out of a trio whose
past credentials speak to each having the ball in their hands.
“It’s a simple game but it becomes
complicated when you put different personalities and players on the floor,”
Nash said in the middle of this week. “Our group’s done a really good job being
unselfish this year and trying to move the ball and work together so I’ve been
proud of that.”
That journey to win a championship with
Harden now in the fold got off to an excellent start as he registered a
triple-double of 32 points, 14 assists, and 12 rebounds to go along with four
steals, going 13 for 15 from the charity stripe in the Nets 122-115 win versus
the Orlando Magic on Saturday night. Durant led the way with 42 points, five
assists, two block shots, and two steals on 16 for 26 from the field, including
5 for 8 from three-point range.
Harden became the first player in NBA
history to record a 30-plus point triple-double in one’s debut with his new
team, while also becoming the seventh player in NBA history to author a
triple-double in his debut with a new team.
“It felt really good. Guys got after it,”
Harden said to Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network sideline reporter for
the Nets Michael Grady after the win.
While there were some great moments for
the Nets in Harden’s debut, there was some glaring areas that need to be
cleaned up if they want to make the dream of winning a title a reality.
They surrendered 115 points on 46.3
percent shooting to the Magic, led by their All-Star center Nikola Vucevic, who
had 34 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and five steals on 14 for 22 from
the floor, including 6 for 12 from three-point range. The six made threes
matched a career-high.
It has been said many times that offense
wins games, but defense wins championships. Every single NBA champion since
2003 from the five-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs (2003, 2005, 2007, and
2014), Detroit Pistons (2004), Miami Heat (2006, 2012, and 2013), Boston
Celtics (2008), Los Angeles Lakers (2009, 2010, and 2020), Dallas Mavericks
(2011), Golden State Warriors (2015, 2017, and 2018), and Toronto Raptors
(2019) have finished in the no lower than No. 11 in defensive efficiency.
While the Nets ranked 13th in
defensive efficiency, they rank 30th (dead last) in rate of
contested shots at 84 percent, according to Second Spectrum, and have allowed
on average 197 uncontested shot attempts to the opposition, the most allowed in
the NBA.
The Nets also had 19 turnovers, which the
Magic converted into nine points, with Harden counting for nine of those
miscues and Durant counting for six of his own.
“I mean, individually, I have to stop
turning the basketball over,” Harden, who despite shooting 8 for 18 from the
field was just 3 for 10 from three-point range also said to Grady postgame.
“But that also comes with chemistry. That comes with practice. That comes with
watching film. So, first game. I glad to get a win and we just got to keep
going.”
Harden added about fitting in with the
rest of the Nets, “When you’re playing with really good players, it’s pretty
easy. You just got to learn reads. Learn where guys like the ball. Just learn
our personnel individually. So, once I get that, you know, the turnovers will
cut down, and I’ll be more efficient.”
Durant made some history himself on
Saturday night with his ninth consecutive game scoring 25-plus points, setting
a new franchise record, calling what Harden did in his debut “incredible.”
“You can see him trying to figure out the
best way to play early on,” Durant added. “I felt like we all were overpassing.
Trying to make everybody comfortable, and then he [Harden] got into his mode
of, you know, being aggressive to score. And that opened up the game for all of
us. So, you know, glad he got his feet up under him. He’s got to keep plugging
away, keep getting better each day.”
What will make the Nets offense even more efficient is getting Irving back into the lineup, who missed his sixth straight game against the Magic.
Irving who has not played since the Nets
130-96 win versus the Utah Jazz, had been on the shelf the first five games due
to personal reasons. He was listed as out on Saturday night because of the
league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols. A source of the Nets told ESPN’s
Malika Andrews that while Irving expressed his desire to return to action, him
being out for an extended period of time from the hardwood required a period of
ramping up his basketball activities because he had not played in 12 days.
On Friday, the NBA announced that Irving
violated the league’s COVID-19 health and safety regulations after a video
surfaced on social media of him earlier last week at a family birthday party
not wearing a mask. That led to him not only being fined $50,000 by the league,
but Irving had to forfeit two game checks he missed during his five-day period
of being in quarantine, which concluded at the close of this past week. In
total, according to ESPN’s NBA Front Office Insider Bobby Marks, Irving lost
$816,898 in salary.
“We are aware of a video on social media
featuring Kyrie Irving at a family gathering,” Nets General Manager Sean Marks
said on the situation. “We are reviewing the circumstances with both Kyrie and
the NBA in order to determine compliance with health and safety protocols.”
“Kyrie remains away from the team due to
personal reasons. A date of his return has yet to be finalized. In the
meantime, we will continue to stay focused on our organizational goals. Kyrie
will have the opportunity to address his absence when he is ready to do
so.”
The sooner that Irving can get back on the
court the better for the Nets because with how things are this season in terms
of how you can practice because of the COVID-19, it leaves a fraction of time
for the trio of Durant, Irving, and Harden to find the kind of chemistry that
will be necessary for them to have the kind of championship success that Durant
and Irving want again, and what is missing from Harden’s career resume.
To put into context how daunting of a
challenge this will be to create a system that will bring out the best of
Durant, Irving and Harden, Irving at 42.5 percent, and Durant and each at 39.7
percent rank No. 1 and tied for No. 3 in terms of the highest usage rate in
clutch time (last five minutes of the fourth quarter/overtime with the scorer
within five points) over the last 10 seasons on a minimum of 500 minutes
played, with the former teammate with the Thunder and Rockets in 2017 Kia MVP
Russell Westbrook (40.9 percent) of the Washington Wizards and four-time Kia
MVP and four-time Finals MVP LeBron James (39.4 percent) of the defending NBA
champion Lakers ranking No. 2 and No. 5 respectably in this category. Harden
(1,400), Irving (1,123), and Durant (1,044) ranked No. 1, No. 6, and No. 8
respectably in clutch points in the last 10 seasons
Meaning, the Nets have three guys they can
go to in the final seconds of a game to make that last shot or be a decoy so
that either of the other two can get that last shot in the clutch to put the
Nets on top. Like how Irving did in Game 7 the 2016 Finals with the Cavaliers
when he hit the game-winning three-pointer that capped their comeback from a
3-1 series deficit against the then defending NBA champion Warriors that earned
them their first title in franchise history.
That said, the Nets not only brought in
the league’s reigning three-time scoring champion in Harden, but also the
league’s leader in both time of possession the last three seasons, at 1,364
minutes and in most dribbles at 76,648, according to Second Spectrum.
Harden’s success in his eight-plus seasons
with the Rockets as the lethal scorer he has become begins at the top of the
three-point line alone, where looks to either drive the basketball or a step
back jumper, which he has become a master at.
Now with the Nets, James when does attack
opposing defenses off the dribble and they close the door by bringing defensive
help, he will now have the likes Durant, Irving, and Joe Harris, who can strike
a match at the drop of a hat from the perimeter.
Over the past five seasons, Durant is the
best in the NBA with a marksmanship of 47 percent on chat-and-shoot jump shots,
according to Second Spectrum.
“We’re all elite,” Harden said. “Depending
on the game. Depending on what’s going on over the course of the game, that’s
going to determine who gets the ball and who makes the plays.”
“We’re all unselfish. We’re all willing
passers. We play basketball the right, and that’s all that matters.”
While that might be the case that the Nets
have made it a priority to be selfless on the floor, and Durant, Irving, and
Harden say that now, that has not been the complete case for this newly formed
trio off the court.
Ever since he left in free agency to join
the Warriors in the summer of 2016, he has always faced from his critics,
mainly from social media that he was a tag along in helping the Warriors win
their two of three titles from the just completed decade, even though he was
named back-to-back Finals MVP in 2017 and 2018.
Durant was shelved for the entire first
season with the Nets in 2019-20 recovering from a right Achilles injury
sustained in Game 5 of the 2019 Finals at the Toronto Raptors.
So far this season, he has shown no
hesitation in his play and looks every bit like the dynamic scorer that he has
been his entire career.
There is no denying that Irving is one of
the elite guards in the NBA. His talent is second to none in the NBA. It has
been his leadership style and focus that has always been called into question
from his time with the Cavaliers playing alongside James, or in his short time
with the Celtics to the early part of his time with the Nets.
Irving has shown that he at times only cares about doing things his own way from expressing last season how the Nets did not have elite talent to compete with the top teams in the league, even though he missed 52 of the 72 games last season after having season-ending shoulder surgery.
His exit from the Celtics the season
before was a horrific one, which began with good intentions when he said before
the start of that season to season-ticket holders that he intended to re-sign
with them once he hit unrestricted free agency. He also had a hard time sharing
the spotlight with now emerging star forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Irving’s time with the Cavaliers came to a
conclusion in summer of 2017 when he was dealt to the Celtics because he wanted
to get out of the shadow of James, who left for a second time the summer of
2018 in free agency to join the Lakers.
The collapse of the relationship between
the Rockets and Harden began in the middle of September 2020 when former
Rockets head coach, now Nets assistant coach Mike D’Antoni decided that he
would not return to the coach the Rockets after they lost in the 2020 Western
Semifinals to the now reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers 4-1.
On Oct. 15, 2020, then Rockets General
Manager Daryl Morey resigns, being replaced by new GM Rafael Stone. Morey after
saying he left to spend more time with his family in late October 2020 joins
the Philadelphia 76ers as their new President of Basketball Operations.
“We’re still all-in. Our goal is to win a
championship,” Stone said in early November 2020. “We’ll do anything we can to
get us close to that goal.”
On Oct. 30, 2020, the Rockets hire
longtime assistant coach Stephen Silas as their new head coach, which Harden
and then teammate Russell Westbrook reportedly signed off on.
In the middle of November 2020, Harden and
Westbrook express their concerns about the direction of the Rockets, with each
asking to be traded. Harden ask to be traded to a couple different teams, with
the Nets being at the top of his wish list.
Harden wanted to move on so much that on
Nov. 16, 2020 turned down a two-year, $103 million contract extension.
He then did not report to training camp on
time in early December 2020, but instead went on a three-state tour, that
included stops in Atlanta, GA and Las Vegas, NV partying it up in clubs and
nighttime establishments, posting photos of himself on his Instagram page
@jharden13, without wearing a mask, which again is in direct violation of the
NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
While Harden was fined by the NBA, Rockets
management simply wanted Harden back in the fold, hoping that once he got on
the court with new additions in former All-Star John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins,
and Christian Wood to try to change his mind on wanting out.
That did not happen as Harden continued to
show his displeasure as the Rockets went 1-4 their previous five games, mainly
due to Harden being a shadow of his usual high octane scoring, step back popping,
foul drawing self, as he has registered 20 points or fewer four straight games
for the first time since he was coming off the bench with the Thunder back in
2012.
It was on full display in the Rockets
(4-7) 117-100 loss versus the Lakers last Tuesday night on NBATV, where the
Lakers treated the contest like ESPN’s “NBA: The Jump’s” Rachel Nichols called
“An And-One showcase.”
Harden finished what would be his final
game in a Rockets uniform with 16 points, six assists, and seven rebounds on 5
for 16 from the field. Harden threw lazy passes; played with no effort or
energy on defense.
To bring this into fuller context, Harden
in the first three games of this season, he averaged 37.0 points and 11.0
assists on 52.5 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from three-point range on
12.0 free throw attempts per game. In the last five games, Harden had averaged
just 17.4 points and 10.0 assists on 37.8 percent from the field, 25.6 percent
from three-point range on 4.8 free throw attempts.
Coach Silas said postgame, “They’re having
fun at our expense. It doesn’t feel good at all. We should take Umbridge. It
was like the Lakers were dancing on our home court.”
It was what Harden said postgame that
seemingly the entire basketball world has been thinking about his future with
the Rockets for more than a month.
“We’re just not good enough,” he said.
“Obviously, chemistry, talentwise. Just, everything, and it was clear.”
“I love this city. I literally have done
everything that I can, you know. I mean, this situation is crazy. It’s
something that I don’t think can be fixed.”
That was followed by Wall saying postgame,
saying that when certain guys in the mix do not want to “buy in” as a group, it
is harder to do anything “special.”
When asked about his relationship with
Harden, Wall said that it has been a “little rocky.” That is has not been the
“best” it could be.
How Harden conducted himself in his
postgame presser seemed to be the last straw from the standpoint of the Rockets
front office as they told Harden that Wednesday morning to not come to practice
with Coach Silas telling reporters that he felt in the best interest of the
team that he remained away until he was traded.
Cousins added that he does not feel “betrayed”
one bit by how Harden has acted during his now brief time as his teammate with
the Rockets. That his interest in signing with the Rockets was to team up with
former University of Kentucky Wildcat in Wall. That showing up late to training
camp and his “antics” away from the hardwood turned Cousins completely off to
Harden.
“For us to be on the receiving end of some of his, you know, disrespectful comments and antics is completely unfair to us,” Cousins.
Harden got his wish in the middle of this
past week when he was dealt to the Nets, finishing his Rockets career second
only to Hall of Famer and two-time NBA champion Hakeem Olajuwon in scoring at
18.365, and No. 1 in assists (4,796), made three-pointers (2,029), and free
throws made (5,554), being named an All-Star in those first eight seasons.
An organization that brought in the likes
of Dwight Howard (2013-16), Chris Paul (2017-19) and the aforementioned
Westbrook (2019-20) during Harden’s time with the Rockets and wanted out in three
seasons or under playing with Harden.
“An elite player. An elite teammate. An
elite leader,” Harden said in his introductory presser when asked by WNBC 4 New
York’s Bruce Beck on the kind of teammate and player the Nets will be getting.
In addressing about how things ended with
the Rockets by his postgame comments in what was his last game with the Rockets
when asked by WCBS 2’s sports anchor Otis Livingston, Harden said that he “was
not disrespectful to anyone,” especially to Wall and Cousins.
“Those guys [Wall and Cousins], they just
got there to Houston. I’ve been there for a very long time. I’ve been through
all the ups and downs with that organization. And I wasn’t disrespectful
towards anyone. I just made a comment that the team as a whole wasn’t good
enough to compete for a title. At the stage of my career where I am now, that
what I would love.”
When Marks took the Nets Gm job nearly
five years ago, he said that he looked forward to creating a culture that was
unified in the process of building a consistent winner.
What Marks inherited then was a team that
put all its future assets of three future First-Round draft picks (2014-2016,
and 2018) and the option to swap a 2017 First-Round draft pick on the table on
June 27, 2013 when they acquired future Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and
current NBA on ESPN studio analyst Paul Pierce, who were past their prime
years.
When the Nets finally got their front
office business in order, the Nets had the salary cap room to get Durant, via
sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors, while also signing Irving.
On Thursday, the Nets acquired James
Harden, which like in the aforementioned summer of 2013 cost them much of their
depth in LeVert, Allen, and Kurucs, and future assets.
“When you have the opportunity to add
James Harden to your roster, you’re certainly going to do your due diligence,
and you’re going to do everything you possibly can to make that happen,” Mark
said on Thursday in his virtual presser. “We know what James is capable, you
know, on the court. We’ve seen that.”
“When you’re bringing in, you know, an
MVP, First-[Team] [All]-NBA team caliber player, he’s so eager to get on the
court with these guys and be a part of this and start fresh.”
“They understand there’s without a doubt
going to be some nights where one or two need to sacrifice for the other and so
forth,” Marks said. “But I think they’re all looking for that common goal.
We’re all looking for that common goal, you know, as I said before to be the
last team standing.”
Just like back in 2013, the Brooklyn Nets
swung for the fences with the goal of winning a title with the signings of
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the summer of 2019, and the acquisition of
James Harden from the Houston Rockets on Thursday.
Harden, like it or not proved to be the
second-best player in Rockets history behind the aforementioned Olajuwon.
Olajuwon though delivered back-to-back titles for the Rockets in the 1994 and
1995. While Harden got the Rockets to the Western Conference Finals twice in
2015 and 2018, they lost to the Warriors in five and seven games respectably.
He also has a slew of bad finishes in the
closeout games in the playoffs. He had 14 points on 2 for 11 shooting with a
single-game playoff record 12 turnovers in the 104-90 setback Game 5 at the
Warriors in the 2015 Western Conference Finals. Two years later in the 2017
West Semifinals, Harden came up short again with 10 points (tied a season-low)
on again 2 for 11 shooting with six turnovers in the 114-75 Game 6 loss versus
the Spurs. In Game 7 of the 2018 West Finals versus the Warriors, Harden went 2
for 13 from three-point range in the 101-92 loss to the eventual NBA champions,
as the Rockets missed 27 straight three-pointers at one point in the game.
Harden missed 10 straight threes during that stretch. In Game 6 of the 2019
Semis against the Warriors, Harden went 11 for 25 from the field, including 6
for 15 from three-point range for 35 points, but was just 7 for 12 from the
foul line with six turnovers, including two the final 1:30 of the game as the
Warriors on Game 6 118-113 and the series in six games.
Sacrifice, attention to detail at the
defensive end, and a determination to not get distracted by their critics is
how the Nets will have a chance to win a title with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving,
and James Harden as their star trio.
This is especially important for Harden
because Durant and Irving already have an NBA title on his NBA career resumes,
with Durant earning two with the Warriors. Harden’s reputation took a major he
exited the Rockets has taken a major hit and it seems like helping the Nets win
a title is the only way he can repair his reputation.
The Nets have the talent, led by Durant, Irving, and Harden to be special. Will they have the determination, focus, and commitment to make that a reality? We shall see.
Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 2020 NBA Free Agency and Trade: Latest Buzz, News and Reports via www.espn.com from Oct. 21-Dec. 8, 2020; 1/13/2021 3 p.m. “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Malika Andrews, Kendrick Perkins, and Zach Lowe; 1/14/2021 1 a.m. NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Chris Miles, Candace Parker, and Brendan Haywood; 1/14/2021 www.nba.com story, “Nets Acquire James Harden In Blockbuster Trade;” 1/14/2021 3 p.m. “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Richard Jefferson, and Robert Horry; 1/14/2021 12:30 a.m. ESPN’s “Sportscenter With Scott Van Pelt” from Washington, DC; 1/15/2021 www.espn.com story, “Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving To Remain Out Sat. vs. Orlando Magic Due To Protocols,” by Malika Andrews; 1/15/2021 2 a.m. ESPN’s “Sportscenter,” from Los Angeles, CA with Neil Everett and Stan Verrett; 1/15/2021 3 p.m. “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, David Fizdale, and Paul Pierce; https://www.espn.com/nba/stats/_/id/3992/james-harden; https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201905100HOU.html; https://www.nba.com/game/orl-vs-bkn-002200190; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Brooklyn_Nets#2012-2015:_New_Era_In_Brooklyn_and_Playoff_Contention; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Harden; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Durant; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyre_Irving.
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