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Nets: Should BK pursue this wild three-team James Harden trade?

ByJerry Trotta|
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 01: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets is defended by James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 01: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets is defended by James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)

Should the Nets get crazy and pursue a three-team trade to land James Harden?

Stop us if you didn’t see this coming, Brooklyn Nets fans, but the James Harden drama has returned in emphatic fashion over the last few days after it became apparent that he would begin the 2020-21 season with the Houston Rockets.

Harden seems to be purposefully delaying his mandatory arrival at preseason camp and a report from ESPN acknowledging that he’d be open to a trade to Philadelphia or another contender has once again put the ball in the Rockets’ court in terms of finding a buyer.

You might think that the Nets are on to bigger and better things, but they cannot be ignored as a potential destination. With that in mind, media outlets have been brainstorming trades to see what kind of deals could potentially be made.

Speaking of which, we’ve managed to stumble across an intriguing blockbuster three-team deal proposed by Space City Scoop, which is FanSided’s official page for all things Rockets. Let’s dive into a breakdown of the trade to determine if Brooklyn should pursue a similar (or identical) package.

This specific trade involves the Nets, Rockets and Pelicans, and here’s what each team would receive.

  • Nets: James Harden
  • Pelicans: Caris Levert
  • Rockets: Jarrett Allen, Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris (!), and Milwaukee’s first-round picks from the Jrue Holiday trade.

Fans who feel as though the Nets get the short end of the stick in this trade are (at least in our eyes) fully justified. While we don’t hate the idea of GM Sean Marks not having to unload a shipment of draft compensation in order to acquire Harden, the only use those picks really have to Brooklyn moving forward is trade leverage. Gutting the entire roster isn’t the answer, either.

The Nets already flaunt a perfect balance of veteran superstars and young talent. Why would they ship off their most important players not named Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving just to acquire another ball-dominant scorer and horde draft capital? If this trade was presented to Marks, we seriously hope he would laugh Houston and New Orleans off the phone before hanging up.

https://twitter.com/theScore/status/1336323453796798474

If Harris, who was just signed to a four-year, $75 million extension, wasn’t included in the trade, maybe we would consider pulling the trigger. Even then, it might not even be enough because Brooklyn would still be jettisoning almost all of their depth, which is widely considered to be among the best in the NBA.

We’ve been against trading for Harden from the jump and this blockbuster did nothing to convince us that it would be worth it. In fact, it almost gave us more reason to implore the front office to keep the roster as presently constituted.