OKC Thunder: 2 multi-team James Harden trades with Boston & Portland
By Mark Nilon
Cs land Harden, Houston gets a budding star, OKC Thunder gets a young asset
Given the recent rumors of interest, coupled with their reletively disappointing start to the season, it would appear that the Boston Celtics pursuing the likes of James Harden is quite a feasible scenario.
Of course, any deal involving the superstar will require a hefty return package, and the shamrocks are seen by many as having the best offer that could entice Houston to make a move, as the idea would be that they would send fifth-year wing Jaylen Brown to the Rockets.
At 24-years-old, Brown is finding himself following up a career season with a stellar start to 2020-21. Averaging 28 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.7 steals, and just under a block per game on an incredible 60 percent shooting from the field and 43 percent shooting from deep, it appears the young baller is hell-bent on making his way to star-status.
Unfortunately for him, however, playing alongside the likes of current star Jayson Tatum and franchise point guard Kemba Walker (when he returns), it may be hard for him to consistently shine full time and, with this, might be better off elsewhere to guide his own team.
Houston could be that team.
In this trade, of course, we see James Harden coming to Boston, who, with all due respect to Brown, would instantly make the team favorites in the East to take the conference crown — typically speaking, stepping up from a budding star to a superstar does that.
They’d easily roll out one of the most menacing big-3s in the entire league with him, Tatum, and Walker, while also seeing Danuel House (via Houston) and George Hill from the OKC Thunder come in to help bolster their bench unit.
Houston, as mentioned, gets Brown to help lead them both in the present and into the future, the do-it-all/ NBA All-Defensive guard Marcus Smart, the defensive-oriented Daniel Theis, the second-year guard Carsen Edward, and two future picks from Boston.
As for the OKC Thunder, we see them bring on second-year wing Romeo Langford and third-year forward Semi Ojeleye.
This is not the first time we’ve discussed the idea of bringing on these two players and, frankly, almost a month after publication, our reasoning remains the same:
"At this moment in time, a guy like Langford will NOT impact what the OKC Thunder are trying to do in attaining a high selection come the 2021 NBA Draft. That said, he could be viewed as a quality long-term prospect that the franchise can groom to be a starter alongside SGA moving forward. Despite his lowly rookie season — 2.5 points on 35 percent shooting — he was an absolute stud during his collegiate days, even with an injured thumb on his shooting hand (averaged 16.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game on 45 percent shooting during his one-and-done season at Indiana). Getting a 21-year-old, 2019 lottery pick without giving up any draft assets? Yes please!"