James Harden is heading to Brooklyn to join Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Every week throughout the season, NBA.com writer John Schuhmann scans the league to compile stats and notes for his deep Power Rankings. Before the next rankings drop on Monday, let’s take a look at how James Harden’s illustrious contract on Wednesday will affect the four teams involved.
James Harden’s situation in Houston rose abruptly, and less than 24 hours after he said “It’s something I think can’t be fixed,” Harden traded to the Brooklyn Nets in a deal that was made official Thursday morning.
The Harden trading pairs with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are on the Brooklyn team that traded two of the young players he spent the last four seasons developing. and he sacrificed the other seven versions in an attempt to win a competition now. For the Rockets, it’s a reset. And they are reportedly redirecting Caris LeVert to Indiana in exchange for Victor Oladipo, a deal that will give Houston more financial flexibility going forward.
With the Rockets uninterested in what the Nets had to offer themselves, the Cleveland Cavaliers got into the deal and grabbed some young talent to add to their heart. Here are a few notes and numbers regarding the teams and players involved in both trades.
1. Brooklyn: All in!
Out: Jarrett Allen, Rodions Kurucs, Caris LeVert, Taurean Prince, 3 first round selections, 4 selected swaps, rights to Aleksandar Vezenkov (57th pick in 2017)
In: James Harden, 1 second-round pick
The Brick Draft is a huge sacrifice, but the Nets also lost depth, trading three rotation players for one. Harden is clearly replacing LeVert as one of the main ball handlers, but the Prince gave them flexibility and Allen was their real big deal.
The Nets have three open roster spots and could certainly use another center behind 32-year-old DeAndre Jordan. Allen will be missed (although it is very likely that the Nets will not be able to pay this summer). But hey, they now have two of the highest scores in NBA history.
Multiple seasons, 28% + usage rate, 60% TS% +
| Performer | Seasons | High Fish% | High TS% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Durant | 6 | 32.2% | 64.7% |
| James Harden | 6 | 39.6% | 62.6% |
| LeBron James | 5 | 31.1% | 64.9% |
| Stephen Curry | 4 | 31.4% | 67.5% |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | 2 | 36.3% | 64.4% |
| Anthony Davis | 2 | 29.1% | 61.2% |
| Kawhi Leonard | 2 | 30.6% | 61.0% |
Deployment rate =% of team property used (via FGA, TO & line trips) when on the ground
TS% = Actual firing percentage = PTS / (2 * (FGA + (0.44 * FTA)))
5 numbers to know:
- While Durant has lost four games and Irving has lost six, the Nets have seen the second biggest jump in the league in offensive efficiency, gaining 114.1 points per 100 possessions (sixth in the league), up from 108.7 (22nd) last season.
- Harden’s loneliness holdings have fallen from 14.1 (on which he gained 1.12 points per possession) last season to just 6.0 this season. His pick-and-roll ball handling properties are up from 5.6 to 7.1, and the 1.19 points for every possession he received as a pick-and-roll ball handler is third among 45 players who have at least five ball handling to measure ownership of each game.
Some film: Harden can be a great traveler …
2. Houston: There’s a team here
Out: James Harden, 2 picks in second round
In: Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, Victor Oladipo, 4 first round selections, 4 selected exchanges, 1 second round selection
When a team trades superstitions, the most valuable points are on their own. The Rockets sit in 14th place in the West after Wednesday, after losing four of their last five games. But they still have a group of eight or nine veterans who are able to win. This may not be last season ‘s Oklahoma City Thunder, who finished in the Western fifth after trading Paul George and Russell Westbrook for a series of bricks, but he’ s certainly not a bad team, the either.
There are still two questions. First, how quickly will this new group come together? Second, are more trades coming? Oladipo and PJ Tucker have both concluded contracts.
5 numbers to know:
- The Rockets rank in the bottom four in both ball moves (313 passes per 24 minutes of possession, 27th) and player moves (10.4 miles traveled per 24 minutes of possession, 30th) for the fourth straight season, after seeing a small jump in the previous and a small drop in the last one from last season.
- The Rockets have allowed 18.9 fewer points for every 100 possessions with Harden off the floor (98.1) than they have with Harden on the floor (117.0). But they have played just 28 minutes with John Wall, Tucker and Christian Wood on the floor without Harden, and have conceded 76 points on 56 defensive possession (135.7 per 100) in those minutes.
- Oladipo’s effective field goal percentage of 38.3% on pull-up jerseys ranks 48th among 51 players who have attempted at least 50.
- 4.6 Oladipo challenges every 36 minutes is fifth among 205 players who have played at least 200 minutes total this season. His 0.70 costs per 36 tied for second place among that same group.
Some film: Oladipo is a conscious defender willing to sacrifice his body…
3. Indiana: More juice off the dribble
Out: Victor Oladipo, 1 second round pick
In: Caris LeVert, 1st pick in the second round
The Pacers have responded well to the changes that new coach Nate Bjorkgren has brought to each end of the floor. Through Wednesday, they are one of three teams – the Lakers and Bucks being the others – that are in the top 10 both in offensive and defensive effectiveness. Oladipo averaged 20 ppg and looked better than he did last season, but still not as explosive as he did before his knee injury two years ago.
LeVert is two years younger than Oladipo and is under contract until 2022-23. After dealing with injuries himself, he didn’t have a long run of production in his four seasons. But it gives the Pacers a little more juice off the dribble, ranking 12th with 14.5 touchdowns per game.
5 numbers to know:
- LeVert has seen a jump in the practice rate each season he has been in the league, from 16.1% as a rookie to 29.5% (13th among 205 players who have played at least 200 full minutes) this season seo.
- Last season, LeVert had a real percentage of 51.4%, the lowest mark among 41 players with a usage rate of 25% or higher. His actual percentage of 51.6% this season ranks 38th among 43 players with a usage rate of 25% or higher.
- LeVert leads the league with 62 unrestricted area hits in the paint. His 41.9% on those views is ranked 33rd among 50 players who have attempted at least 30.
- The Pacers saw the biggest jump in the league in the percentage of their shots that came from the restricted area, from 33% (11th) last season to 41% (first) this season. They have also seen the sixth biggest jump in the league in the percentage of their views that came from a 3-point range, from 31.7% (30th) last season to 37.2% (20th) last year. this season.
- Myles Turner has defended 10.1 hits at the edge of every game, mostly in the league with a healthy margin. Opponents have the 43.2% shot at the edge when Turner has been there to defend his second-best margin defense among 36 players who have defended at least 4.5 hits at the edge every game.
Some film: LeVert can release feature when weaving into the paint…
4. Cleveland: Another venue for the gathering
Out: Dante Exum, 1 first round pick, 1 second round pick
In: Jarrett Allen, Prince of Taurean, rights to Aleksandar Vezenkov (57th election in 2017)
The Cavs got a very good young player (Allen turns 23 April) for a couple of selections, and the first 2022 collector they traded was the Bucks, who lost value when Giannis Antetokounmpo signed to his contract extension last month. The only issue with Allen is that he is a limited free agent this year, so he has to pay.
The Cavs have a crowded front court, even with Kevin Love (calf strain) on the shelf. They are Andre Drummond, JaVale McGee and Larry Nance Jr. played together for a full 14 minutes this season. Drummond and McGee are only under contract for this season, but coach JB Bickerstaff will have trouble finding minutes for his bigs in the short term.
5 numbers to know:
- The Cavs rank third defensively, having conceded 104.7 points for every 100 possessions, having ranked 29, 30 and 30 in the last three seasons. They have kept their opponent below the point of all possession in five of their 12 games, having done so in just six of their 65 games last season.
- With the biggest drop in points allowed in the league per 100 possessions, the Cavs have also seen the biggest drop in points score per 100 possessions, from 106.9 (26th) last season to 99.8 (30th) this season. They are the only team to run in the bottom five in three of the four factors on offense: 28th in effective field goal percentage, 27th in free throw rate, and 27th in turnover.
- Allen has seen a rebounding percentage each year that he has been in the league, from 12.7% as a rookie to 18.7% (eighth among 272 players who have averaged 15 minutes in the game) in the league. this season. Drummond (23.7%) leads the league in rebounding percentage for the sixth time in the last eight seasons (after finishing third in 2014-15 and second in ’17 -18).
- Allen has seen the biggest jump in the free throw rate (from 58.1 to 93.8 attempts per 100 hits from the field) among 188 players with at least 500 attempts to hit the field last season & at least 50 this season. The Prince has seen the third biggest jump (from 12.0 to 36.5).
- The Prince’s effective field goal percentage of 47.7% over his single additional season with the Nets was down from 52.7% in his last two seasons with Atlanta and is ranked 161st among 174 players with at least 500 attempts overall field goals from the start of last season. (Allen is third at 65.3%.)
Some film: Allen has added a bit of polish to his offensive game since joining the league…
Check back Monday for the updated NBA.com Power Rankings with stats and notes on all 30 teams.
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John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can send him an email here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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