OKC Thunder: 2 last-second multi-team James Harden blockbusters
By Mark Nilon
Trade No. 1) Rockets replace lost picks, Nets land Harden, OKC lands LeVert
The popular belief is that if the Brooklyn Nets want to land James Harden, they’ll need to part ways with their rising star, Caris LeVert.
This proposed deal does do exactly that but, instead of him heading to the Rockets, we see him coming to the OKC Thunder.
With the way Oklahoma City has played of late, it’s apparent that they aren’t too worried about getting the top pick in this year’s draft and, with them being in-and-out of the top-eight in the Western Conference standings, might be interested in once again surprising the world and contending for yet another postseason appearance similar to what they did in 2019-20.
Many are under the impression that Sam Presti may want to consider flipping some — though, certainly not close to the majority — of the team’s treasure trove of draft capital for an already established player who can make them a more attractive team in free agency as well as give franchise cornerstone Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a proper running mate.
We recently discussed how a guy like LeVert would be worth giving up draft picks for and, today, we’re putting these claims to work by offering up a couple of picks (both heading to Houston) for the budding star in this hypothetical deal.
Why the Brooklyn Nets do it
Obviously, they’d do this deal to land James Harden, a superstar who can drop 30+ points and 10+ assists on any given night to help formulate perhaps the league’s most menacing big-3 in years alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving — whenever he returns.
Not only do they land Harden, but they also bring on George Hill, a savvy veteran guard who can help space the floor on offense, provide sound defense, and can help bolster the team’s depleted backcourt behind Kyrie, as previous stud-backup Spencer Dinwiddie is both likely out for the year due to a partially torn ACL and, of course, would be heading to Houston
Why the Houston Rockets do it
It’s been clear for months now that James Harden has wanted out of Houston but, unfortunately, they can’t go the traditional route of “trade stars then tank” method that teams usually embark on in similar circumstances, as they have forfeited numerous picks over the next several seasons due to past trades (the OKC Thunder owns the majority of them throughout 2026).
In this deal, we see them bringing on players such as Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince, and Rodions Kurucs who can help them stay competitive in the now and moving forward, while also bringing on Dinwiddie — who is expected to make a full recovery from ACL repair surgery and averaged 21.3 points and 7.3 assists last season as a starter — and a total of five first-round picks in return to help them build for the future as well.
Why the OKC Thunder do it
Like we said earlier, to cash in on some of their draft capital now while also bringing in a budding star to pair with SGA moving forward.
Following up a stellar breakout 2019-20 campaign with yet another fantastic season, the fifth-year wing is posting per-game averages of 18.4 points, six assists, 4.3 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and a half block per game on 43 percent shooting from the field and 35 percent shooting from deep.
A lineup consisting of Gilgeous-Alexander, LeVert, Luguentz Dort, and Darius Bazley moving forward, coupled with the fact that even with shipping off two first-rounders they have a potential total of 16 others over the next seven seasons, makes the Thunder have the prospects of being a very scary team in a few years.