Brooklyn Nets: 3 trades that could get James Harden to BK

How can the Brooklyn Nets actually bring James Harden to BK? These three trades should work.

Nets fans, it’s officially time to digest the James Harden rumors as reality, whether a deal gets consummated or not.

There’s too much smoke swirling from different directions to dismiss this offhandedly. After all, Woj wouldn’t drop the bomb about Harden’s “focus” on a trade to the Nets, as well as his purported, “Get me to Brooklyn” message.

Woj isn’t the bottom of a comment section. He doesn’t just…say things.

So, theoretically, what would it take to get Harden out of the red-and-black and into the regular black? Frankly, that calculus has changed in the past 24 hours, during which we’ve seen an expiring Jrue Holiday go to the Milwaukee Bucks for three future first-round picks, as well as two pick swaps. A king’s ransom for a non-top-25 player in the league could have Rockets GM Rafael Stone (welcome to the job!) salivating, and certainly puts a pin in most of our mocks earlier this week.

What’s technically realistic? These three painful deals probably approximate the conversation.

3. Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Three Future Firsts

Getting James Harden is going to cost the Nets significantly.

Keep in mind we’re comparing the acquisition of the greatest scoring machine currently in the league to the transference of a potential All-Star point guard in Holiday. This has to sting, and it’s possible this trade isn’t even painful enough.

The tenor of the discussion changes, though, when you realize that the first might not even be all that valuable. If the Nets’ grand plan materializes, then the Rockets will be drafting in the mid-to-high 20s several times over the course of a five-year period. Yay? In NFL speak, the Nets would essentially be flipping a bunch of third- and fourth-rounders.

LeVert will likely have to be the centerpiece of any deal here; he’s the only available Net with true star power (well…we’ll get to that later). Dinwiddie seems like he’s embraced his own departure, and would be better served as a creator on a team that allows him more access to the basketball (he thought he was deemphasized in Brooklyn before?!).

This certainly stings, but Eric Bledsoe is far more established in this league than LeVert and has a longer resume. George Hill is a lower-caliber piece than Dinwiddie, sure, but the picks are identical and that’s what Holiday cost as an expiring contract. Harden won’t be a UFA until 2023.

In order to make Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving happy, the Nets will have to pay up. There is a slightly different way to go about this, though.

2. Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince, LeVert, Dinwiddie, a Future First, and a Pick Swap

Sorry, Nets fans, but the Rockets might demand an interior presence like Allen.

Perhaps the future draft cost is lessened by including even more supporting talent from the current roster? Let’s be real; if Harden comes to Brooklyn and gets paid, then no one else is getting paid anytime soon.

Like Jarrett Allen, but wish he were cheaper? Enjoy and embrace Nic Claxton!

Four current budding “star-types” seems like a hefty cost, but once again, this is going to get expensive in one of two ways. Either the Nets are forced to gut their current roster to craft a true super team, or they’re going to have to give up on any semblance of draft capital in the years to come.

Remember the skeleton roster LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade were working with their first year in Miami? It was essentially a laundry list of every 37-year-old willing to play for free. I think Juwan Howard actually paid LeBron $5 a week for the pleasure of traveling with the team.

If the Nets are ready to bend to Harden’s demands, this roster isn’t going to look anything like what you’ve learned to embrace over the past few seasons.

There is one more option on the table, though.

1. Kyrie Irving and Two Future Firsts

Come on, do the Nets really expect all three of these people to play together?

Sure, we’ve seen Big Threes before, but has there ever been a collection of superstars hinging entirely on three ball-dominant scorers?

Is the anticipation here that Irving would sacrifice his scoring almost entirely to keep Harden and Durant happy? Even after plotting for over a year to join Durant and be his wingman? The introduction of a third extremely prominent variable doesn’t seem like something Irving would be amenable to, which is why it’s no surprise that recent rumblings indicate that KD is the one specifically pulling the strings here on Brooklyn’s end.

Irving’s problem, whenever he’s run into one in this league, has stemmed from the idea that he doesn’t really want to be a traditional point guard. Dazzling ball-handling? Check. Special finishing skills? Absolutely. But when the clock is ticking down, he’d rather be the side assassin who can tear a team’s heart out from the outside (a la the 2016 Finals) than a slash-and-kicker who waits for Durant’s glory. And this doesn’t even take into account exactly how often Harden needs the ball in his hands, too. Isn’t that why Chris Paul left for greener pastures?

Perhaps Irving would prefer his own team in Houston instead?

We don’t see a way that this threesome functions effectively in an empty building in Brooklyn for a bizarre 2020-21 season, featuring all the worst vibes in the world.

If Irving is the key piece dangled by the Nets, that could solve the cost issue, the fit issue, the roster gutting, the mood swings…basically everything that doesn’t work about a Harden addition.

Unless Milwaukee steps in and offers the recently-acquired Jrue Holiday for Harden, this would be our preferred outcome. Don’t shoot the messenger here. Just think about what makes sense.

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