The Houston Rockets expressed their appreciation to James Harden with a statement issued Thursday by owner Tilman Fertitta.
Harden, who was traded at his request to the Brooklyn Nets to reunite with Kevin Durant, leaves as the second-leading scorer in Rockets history with 18,365 points. He was an All-Star in each of his first eight seasons with Houston and was named MVP in 2017-18.
In a press release announcing the move, Fertitta said:
On behalf of the entire Rockets organization and the City of Houston, I’d like to thank James Harden for an amazing eight-plus seasons in a Rockets uniform. James has provided us with so many great memories, as we’ve watched him grow from Sixth Man of the Year to a perennial All-Star and MVP.
My family and I also want to thank James for his many off the court contributions, including generous charitable donations and multiple annual community events. We wish James the best of luck and will always be grateful for the memories.
Thank you, @JHarden13. pic.twitter.com/kcrSTts9GE
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) January 14, 2021
In the Harden trade, Houston received Caris LeVert, Rodions Kurucs, and several future first-round picks and pick-swap rights from the Nets, along with Dante Exum and one future first-round pick from Cleveland. According to the team, these are Houston’s incoming draft assets:
- Three unprotected first-round picks from Brooklyn in 2022, 2024, and 2026.
- The right to swap first-round picks with Brooklyn in 2021, 2023, 2025, and 2027.
- Milwaukee’s first-round pick in 2022 from Cleveland.
Then, in a separate two-team trade involving Indiana, Houston will flip LeVert and a 2023 second-round pick to the Pacers for two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo. That deal will also become official Thursday.
