The Nets are 6-6 and seventh in the Eastern Conference standings. On Wednesday night, that fact didn’t seem very important.
Brooklyn’s reported exchange for three-time top scorer James Harden signifies a shift at the beginning of the season in the Eastern balance of power.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, here are the terms of the deal:
What does the exchange mean for the Sixers? How will trading Victor Oladipo for Houston and acquiring Caris LeVert work for Pacers?
Here is an initial overview of potential competitors in the East after the Harden agreement (in no specific order):
Networks
Brooklyn is betting on the trio of Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving being tremendously offensive. As long as everyone is healthy and available, we think it’s a decent bet.
It may not be easy for first-year head coach Steve Nash to distribute the offensive load among three highly talented and widely used game creators, but Irving and Durant have effectively complemented other stars before. Harden did the same early in his NBA career, playing as the sixth player in Thunder with Durant and Russell Westbrook.
It was used in isolation far more than any other NBA player during his time in Houston, so adjustments will be required from all parties. Harden’s 14.1 isolation possessions per game last season were more than the average for any team (except Houston). The coach of that attack is now a Nets assistant, Mike D’Antoni, and we assume that he will be a vital part of the integration process.
The “healthy and available” part is far from certain, for both the Nets and the NBA in general at the moment. Irving lost the last four games for personal reasons, and the league is now investigating videos of him at an unmasked family birthday party, according to various reports. Durant was out of action for the entire 2019-20 season after breaking the Achilles tendon. Harden, in turn, is known as a durable player. With the 31-year-old winning $ 41.2 million this season and $ 44.3 million the following year before his $ 47.4 million option in 2022-23, the Nets certainly need him to do so.
Sixers
A Harden switch may well have made the Sixers the team to beat at the conference.
The team’s most obvious deficiency is the creation of perimeter sockets, and this is what Harden does on a historically large level. Seth Curry and Danny Green would have been useful boost and kick options for the All-Star eight times. With regard to internal dominance, the Sixers have it covered in Embiid, who is among MVP’s first favorites and led the team to a 7-1 start.
The Sixers hired Embiid and Ben Simmons, 24, throughout the 2022-23 season. If basketball operations president Daryl Morey decides to seriously pursue Wizards star Bradley Beal, the Sixers should be well positioned to grab him. If the Sixers decide that it is better to enter this postseason with a list similar to their current state, then we will learn a lot about the Simmons-Embiid duo.
Simmons’ versatile defense is elite and should not be ruled out, but the Sixers need him to turn the ball less and score more efficiently. Whether or not this coincides with making regular pitches, it is essential that he makes real progress and not stagnate or regress offensively. In 10 games, Simmons’ turnover percentage is 21.7 and he is scoring 109.7 points for every 100 shot attempts for Cleaning the Glass. Both figures would be worse for the career.
Pacers
LeVert, 26, has a contract for the next three seasons, while Oladipo is about to expire. The view here, which shouldn’t be too controversial, is that Indiana did very well.
LeVert, who averaged 18.5 points, 6.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds for Brooklyn, is a good addition. However, can Pacers bother any of the supposed best teams in the East? This may be overkill this year, the first under coach Nate Bjorkgren, but LeVert, Malcolm Brogdon, Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner are all under contract until 2022-23.
Celtics
It is difficult to talk a lot about the Celtics until they start playing again. Boston’s last three scheduled competitions have been postponed due to health and safety protocols.
When everyone is healthy, the 7-3 Celtics remains dependent on Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Brown, who has an average of 26.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists, is getting better.
Kemba Walker was released to train last week after missing the start of the season due to persistent left knee problems.
Bucks
The Bucks attack is the best in the league so far for Cleaning the Glass, but Milwaukee did not have a great defensive start. Giannis Antetokunmpo is stuck at his peak, and the Bucks should be in the league conversation while he’s around. We’ll see how Milwaukee fares in its first postseason with Jrue Holiday.
Heat
Another team essentially split in half by NBA health and safety protocols, the title conference champions started 4-5. Jimmy Butler, who is one of the players marginalized by the protocols, opened season 0 out of 7 in the three-point range. The situation for COVID-19 across the league deserves concern, but the slow start for Butler and the Heat does not.