But the Nets will be better insulated against a star player’s injury or absence and, perhaps more crucially, they will have swung a deal for a player Durant wanted to play with again. There will be questions about the offensive fit when Harden arrives in Brooklyn and Irving returns to the lineup. 5 for personal reasons, made the Nets even more eager to find a workable trade for Harden and bolster their top-end talent, according to one of the people. The uncertainty surrounding Irving, who hasn’t played since Jan. The deal brings Oladipo, a former All-Star, to Houston in the final year of his contract, but also replenishes some of the draft assets lost when Houston traded Chris Paul to Oklahoma City for Russell Westbrook in July 2019. The Rockets instead went ahead with a four-team trade based heavily on draft compensation involving the Nets, the Pacers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Sixers had been trying to acquire Harden in trade packages built around the All-Star guard Ben Simmons, according to two people familiar with the discussions who were not authorized to discuss them publicly. Philadelphia’s new president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey, has a relationship with Harden after bringing him to Houston through a trade in 2012, when Morey was the Rockets’ general manager. But the Nets had to fend off strong competition from the Philadelphia 76ers, who were also pursuing a trade with Houston. Harden had been seeking a trade since November, reported a week late to the Rockets’ training camp and - in a nod to his friendship with Durant after three years playing together in Oklahoma City - had the Nets at the top of his list of preferred destinations.
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