UPDATE: This three-team trade was amended on January 16 to become a four-team trade that included Victor Oladipo and the Pacers.
The Brooklyn Nets have acquired six-time All-NBA First Team guard James Harden from the Houston Rockets as part of a three-team trade that includes the Cleveland Cavaliers.
As part of the trade, Brooklyn sends center Jarrett Allen and forward Taurean Prince to Cleveland, and guard Caris LeVert and forward Rodions Kurucs, as well as three first round draft picks (2022, 2024 and 2026) and four first round pick swaps (2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027) to Houston.
The Rockets also receive guard Dante Exum and a 2022 first round draft pick from Cleveland (via Milwaukee), and Brooklyn acquires a 2024 second round draft pick from the Cavaliers to complete the deal.
“Adding an All-NBA player such as James to our roster better positions our team to compete against the league’s best,” said Nets General Manager Sean Marks. “James is one of the most prolific scorers and playmakers in our game, and we are thrilled to bring his special talents to Brooklyn. While we are excited to welcome James and his family to the Nets, we also want to thank the players who are departing. Caris, Jarrett, Rodions and Taurean were instrumental to the team’s success and have made an enormous impact on our organization. It has been a pleasure watching them grow both as players and as people and they will always be part of our Nets family. We wish each of them and their families all the best in the future.”
“On behalf of the entire Rockets organization and the City of Houston, I’d like to thank James Harden for an amazing eight-plus seasons in a Rockets uniform,” said Rockets owner Tilman J. Fertitta. “James has provided us with so many great memories as we’ve watched him grow from Sixth Man of the Year to a perennial All-Star and MVP. My family and I also want to thank James for his many off the court contributions, including generous charitable donations and multiple annual community events. We wish James the best of luck and will always be grateful for the memories.”
The league’s Most Valuable Player in 2018, Harden (6’5”, 220) has been named an All-Star in each of the last eight seasons (2013-20), which marks the second-longest active streak of All-Star appearances behind only LeBron James (16 consecutive appearances). He’s a three-time scoring champion (2018-20) and became the first player to win three straight scoring titles since Kevin Durant did so from 2010-12. Harden was also the league leader in assists in 2017, and he’s one of just six players in NBA history who have won both scoring and assist titles in their careers, joining James, Nate Archibald, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and Russell Westbrook. Harden’s six All-NBA First Team selections tie with Durant for the second-most among active players, trailing only James’ NBA-record 13 first team honors. He ranks 36th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 21,160 career points (fourth among active players) and 54th on the league’s all-time assists list with 5,338 career assists (sixth among active players).
Harden has appeared in 841 games (628 starts) across 12 NBA seasons with Houston (2012-21) and Oklahoma City (2009-12), registering career averages of 25.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.6 steals in 34.3 minutes per game while shooting 44.3 percent from the field, 36.3 percent from 3-point range and 85.8 percent from the free-throw line. In the 2019-20 season, Harden recorded averages of 34.3 points on 44.4 percent shooting from the field, 35.5 percent shooting from distance and 86.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line with 6.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.8 steals in 36.5 minutes per game through 68 regular season games, earning All-NBA First Team honors for the fourth straight season and finishing third in MVP voting. Since the start of his NBA career, Harden has played in 841 of a possible 885 regular season games, and no player has appeared in more games since the start of the 2009-10 season than Harden.
The Compton, Calif., native has also never missed the playoffs in his NBA career, seeing action in 128 games (85 starts) in 11 postseason appearances and posting averages of 23.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.7 steals in 35.3 minutes per contest. He’s made four trips to the Western Conference Finals in his career, twice with the Rockets (2015 and 2018) and twice with the Thunder (2011 and 2012). Harden has also represented the United States in international competition, earning a gold medal with the U.S. men’s basketball team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Harden was originally selected with the third overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Prior to beginning his NBA career, Harden spent two years (2007-09) at Arizona State, earning All-Pac-10 First Team honors twice and garnering consensus first-team All-America honors, as well as the Pac-10 Player of the Year award, in his second and final collegiate season.
Allen saw action in 234 games (180 starts) in his four seasons (2017-21) with the Nets, posting averages of 10.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.4 blocks in 24.4 minutes per game. In the 2020-21 season, Allen has appeared in 12 games (five starts), registering averages of 11.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 blocks in 26.6 minutes per game. The Austin, Texas, native was named to the Mtn Dew Ice Rising Stars as part of 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte during his sophomore season. He is also the Nets’ all-time leader in field goal percentage (61.2 percent) and set the franchise’s single-season record for field goal percentage last season (64.9 percent). The 22-year-old was originally selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by Brooklyn.
LeVert appeared in 225 games (96 starts) in five seasons (2016-21) in Brooklyn, averaging 13.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.1 steals in 25.9 minutes per game. In 12 games (four starts) this season, the Columbus, Ohio, native has registered averages of 18.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.1 steals in 27.8 minutes per contest. The 26-year-old was originally selected with the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers and was traded to Brooklyn after the draft.
Kurucs saw action in 115 games (55 starts) in three seasons with the Nets, recording averages of 6.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game. The Latvian native was originally selected with the 40th overall pick in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft by Brooklyn.
Prince appeared in 272 games (204 starts) across five NBA seasons with Brooklyn (2019-21) and Atlanta (2016-19), registering averages of 11.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 26.0 minutes per game. In 76 games (65 starts) in Brooklyn, Prince averaged 11.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 27.3 minutes per contest. In the 2020-21 season, the San Antonio, Texas, native has seen action in 12 games (four starts), averaging 8.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per contest. The 26-year-old was originally acquired by Brooklyn via trade with the Atlanta Hawks on July 6, 2019.