By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The Brooklyn Nets will be acquiring James Harden from the Houston Rockets, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne. The trade also includes Latvian forward Rodions Kurucs who will be joining the Rockets.
In a huge trade in which the Cleveland Cavaliers are also involved, the Nets are giving Caris LeVert and Dante Exum, apart from Kurucs, to the Rockets, plus four first-round picks in exchange for Harden. The Cavaliers’ 2022 first-round pick (via the Milwaukee Bucks) goes to the Rockets while Cleveland also gets Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince.
The Rockets aren’t keeping LeVert but are sending him to the Indiana Pacers to get guard Victor Oladipo, Woj also reports. Oladipo will hit the 2021 offseason as a free agent.
Harden wasn’t present in Wednesday’s Rockets practice, with team coach Stephen Silas commenting that it “was the best” for the team and the player to not participate in the training session.
After Tuesday’s 117 – 100 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Harden mentioned that the situation on the team is “crazy” and that he doesn’t think “it can be fixed.” The rumors that the All-Star guard wants out of Houston had been ongoing throughout the whole offseason, with the Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers being the two most reported potential destinations.