BROOKLYN (14 January 2021) The Brooklyn Nets acquired James Harden, sixth All-NBA First Team guard, from the Houston Rockets as part of a three-team deal 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 drafts (2022, 2024 and 2026) and four first-round exchanges (2021). ), 2023, 2025 and 2027) to Houston. The Rockets also receive guard Dante Exum and a first-round draft pick in 2022 from Cleveland (via Milwaukee), and Brooklyn obtains a second-round draft draft 2024 from the Cavaliers to complete the deal.
“If we add an All-NBA player like James, we can better position our team to compete against the best of the league,” said general manager Sean Marks. James is one of the most prolific scorers and playmakers in our game, and we are delighted to bring his special talents to Brooklyn. While we are excited to welcome James and his family into the Nets, we would also like to thank the players who are leaving. Caris, Jarrett, Rodions and Taurean were instrumental to the success of the team and made a huge impact on our organization. It was a pleasure to see them grow as well as players and people, and they will always be part of our Nets family. We wish each and every one of them and their families all the best in the future. ”
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), making it the second longest active series of All-Star appearances. is. behind only LeBron James (16 consecutive appearances). He is a three-time champion (2018-20) and has become the first player to score three titles on the standings since Kevin Durant did so from 2010-12. Harden was also the league leader in assists in 2017, and he is one of only six players in NBA history to score both points and their assistants in their careers, and with James, Nate Archibald, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and Russell Westbrook joined. Harden’s six All-NBA First Team picks are tantamount to Durant being the second most active player, chasing only James’ NBA record 13 first-class honors. He ranks 36th on the NBA’s all-time standings with 21,160 career points (fourth among active players) and 54th on the league’s list of all-day assistants with 5,338 career supports (sixth among active players).
Harden appeared in 841 games (628 starts) during 12 NBA seasons with Houston (2012-21) and Oklahoma City (2009-12), with a career average 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 the 3-point range and 85.8 percent from the free-throw line. In the 2019-20 season, Harden averaged 34.3 points on 44.4 percent shooting from the field, 35.5 percent shooting from distance and 86.5 percent shooting from the release line with 6.6 rebounds, 7.5 assist and 1.8 steals in 36.5 minutes per game through 68 games in the regular season, earning the All-NBA First Team honors for the fourth consecutive season and finishing third in the MVP poll. 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 than Harden since the start of the 2009-10 season.
The native of Compton, California, has also never missed a playoff game in his NBA career, while appearing in 128 games (85 starts) in 11 post-season appearances and averaging 23.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.7 steals in 35.3 minutes per game. He has traveled to the Western Conference Finals four times in his career, twice with the Rockets (2015 and 2018) and twice with the Thunder (2011 and 2012). Harden also represented the United States in international competitions and won a gold medal with the American men’s basketball team during 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. Before Harden began his NBA career, he spent two years (2007-09) in the state of Arizona, where he earned the All-Pac-10 First Team honor twice and the first All-America honor of the year. first team, as well as the Pac-10 Player of the Year award, in his second and final college season.
Allen has seen action in his four seasons (2017-21) with 234 games (180 starts) with the Nets and averaged 10.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1 in 24.4 minutes per game. 4 blocks posted. In the 2020-21 season, Allen appeared in 12 games (five starts) and averaged 11.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 blocks in 26.6 minutes per game. Residents of Austin, Texas, were named the Mtn Dew Ice Rising Stars during his second season as part of the NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte in 2019. He is also the Nets’ leading leader in field goal percentage (61.2). percent) and set the franchise’s 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. match. In 12 games (four starts) this season, the Columbus, Ohio native has averaged 18.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.1 steals in 27.8 minutes per game. 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 has appeared in 115 games (55 starts) in three seasons with the Nets, averaging 6.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game. The Injury was originally selected with the 40th overall pick in the second round of the 2018 NBA draft by Brooklyn.
Prince has appeared in 272 games (204 starts) over five NBA seasons with Brooklyn (2019-21) and Atlanta (2016-19), averaging 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 game. In the 2020-21 season, the native of San Antonio, Texas, saw action in 12 games (four starts), averaging 8.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game. The 26-year-old was originally acquired by Brooklyn on July 6, 2019 by trading the Atlanta Hawks.