Thanks to the January 2021 trade sending James Harden from the Rockets to the Nets, Houston controls Brooklyn’s first-round NBA draft assets through 2027. That’s a deal that looks better by the day for the Rockets, seeing as how the Nets have lost three superstars in Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving over the past 14 months.
Indeed, Brooklyn’s outlook for the next few years looks highly questionable, and they’re now a combined 0-8 in 2022 and 2023 playoff games after Saturday’s sweep at the hands of Harden and his 76ers. Harden, of course, kicked off Brooklyn’s wave of superstar departures by forcing a trade to Philadelphia in February 2022.
But if there’s any bitterness on behalf of the Nets, it appears to be directed toward Harden and his current East Coast team. The 76ers also happen to be a longtime Nets rival, located less than 100 miles away. For example, take Saturday’s chant (by Brooklyn’s home fans, during Game 4 of their first-round playoff series) directed at Harden:
Go to Houston! Go to Houston!
Nets fans are chanting “go to Houston” at James Harden while he’s at the free throw line #Sixers
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) April 22, 2023
That’s a clear reference to Harden’s likely free agency in the 2023 offseason, with rumors swirling for months of a potential return to Houston. Should that happen, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone might look like a genius, particularly when considering the context of all that future draft capital still owed from Brooklyn to Houston (courtesy of the original Harden trade between those teams).
For the Nets, however, that’s largely a sunk cost. As of today, they seem more focused on wanting pain for Harden and his current team.
Nets fans were chanting “Off to Houston” as James Harden was heading to the free throw line 👀pic.twitter.com/jv2yXRx9Tm
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 22, 2023
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