Brooklyn Nets: Pros and Cons of franchise-altering James Harden trade

So, you’ve traded for James Harden and everyone’s screaming. Where do the Nets go from here?

It’s fair to feel whiplash, Nets fans.

Two years ago, a scrappy, undermanned team fronted by young leaders like D’Angelo Russell scraped its way to the playoffs on vein ice and guile alone.

Now, that core is gone, that supplementary core is also gone, and three of the greatest scorers of a generation are all going to play their basketball in Brooklyn, clad in 1993 throwback jerseys in front of an empty arena — by design.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Brooklyn Nets fulfilled the prophecy and sent three of their own first-round picks and four first-round pick swaps to the Houston Rockets, while dealing Caris LeVert to Indiana-via-Houston and Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince to Cleveland. James Harden plays here now, as do Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, when he can be tracked down. There’s nothing here but superstars and Joe Harrises, folks.

So, how should Brooklyn feel about this bizarre, head-spinning maneuver that has somehow left fans both rooting for laundry and worshipping an instant contender?

And where is Kyrie Irving, exactly?

In this attempt to break down the pros and cons of one of the strangest days in modern NBA history, we’ll leave no stone unturned and no asset un-dealt.

Pros of Nets’ James Harden Trade

Quite simply, this is the greatest Big Three ever assembled in NBA history? Ignore the defensive deficiencies. Block out the ill-conceived comparisons to Brooklyn dumping their future for an aging pairing of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.

This is three in-the-prime scoring machines under the same roof. Nobody’s aging five years overnight. If you’re ever going to surrender your future for a win-now move, it might as well be in the winningest move conceivable by law.

In his most recent full season (age 30!), Harden averaged 34.3 points per game, following full seasons of 36.1 and 30.4 points per game, all league-leading metrics. This is not simply a great volume scorer. This is a transcendent machine whose occasional olé defense gets massacred because we must find fault with the league’s most unstoppable bucket-getter.

In this trio, who is the weak link? Who is the Chris Bosh? Is it Irving, who averaged 27.4 points per game last year, is a six-time All-Star, and has already hit the Finals-winning shot to cap an historic upset? Is it Durant, whose only weakness is his previous Achilles recovery, which seems to be going pretty well, and which can feature more rest moving forward, now that James Harden has joined the roster to remove some scoring burden.

Being hawkish on this team doesn’t take a lot of work. Mortgaging the future feels like a meaningless analytical platitude when the present could result in multiple championships, without a lot of mental gymnastics.

Of course, there are downsides to removing a long string of pieces from the roster.

Cons of Nets’ James Harden Trade

Every draft pick the Nets had to their name is gone.

Harden just chased his way out of Houston, alienating every teammate along the way in a COVID-related crime spree gone haywire.

Kyrie Irving isn’t playing right now and only does so when he so chooses.

I think that’s it? Fairly major cons.

Oh, and all three players in the headline-grabbing trio could theoretically leave en masse after next season.

This whole shebang is in place for a minimum of two years, but also…players have been empowered. Two years could be it. At which point, there will be nothing left under the Barclays roof except buffalo wings.

Mortgaging the future to win now is a trendy move, but when there’s a solid chance that “now” can all join hands in 1.5 years and split town with their overflowing cash-filled suitcases, that’s a worrisome element.

And…without Jarrett Allen…who plays defense on this team? Hand the keys to Bruce Brown and tell him to guard the 5?

The last time people told Brooklyn their future was dead on arrival, they pieced together a battling young core, then parlayed that enthusiasm into a Steve Nash-led megalith — and, by the way, if this team falls short of its Finals goal, as is usually the case in Year 1 of a roster implosion, Nash is a clear sacrificial lamb.

Now, players have become almost power-mad, with Irving’s as-yet-unjustified absence, which didn’t come with an excuse note, standing in as the latest example of unchecked whimsy. Two of the three members of this trio have been extremely problematic in recent stops, and there’s no backup for either member.

It’s worth a try, for sure. But the blowout potential is immense, and anyone who tells you differently has been blinded by Bleacher Report highlight packages.

Two years to make it work. Here goes nothing, and also here goes everything. And all this for a fan-less season, huh?

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