Reality TV is nothing compared to what’s going on in Houston and Brooklyn these days.
Whether it’s James Harden looking disengaged on the court or telling reporters that the situation with the Rockets is “something that I don’t think can be fixed,” as he did after Houston’s dreadful performance Tuesday night against the Lakers. Or it's Kyrie Irving continuing to miss games for the Nets for unspecified reasons while videos of him (allegedly) dancing at a party circulate. And that was before he was seen on a video conference call with supporters for Tahanie Aboushi, a candidate for the district attorney for Manhattan Tuesday evening.
Silly season, featuring two of the NBA’s premier point guards, has arguably reached a new level and it increasingly feels like something has to give around the incredibly awkward situations in H-Town and Kings County. Do the Rockets and Nets pull the trigger on something before the toxicity reaches an untennable level? If the two squads wanted to dead their drama immediately, there’s a somewhat simple solution.
Trade James Harden for Kyrie Irving. The actual deal would have to obviously include much more, but at the crux of it, this is sort of easy and right in everyone's face.
We all know Harden’s wanted out for months now and Brooklyn reportedly was atop his list of destinations. Houston’s reported demands that teams send back a superstar-caliber player in return for the services of the eight-time All-Star, 2018 MVP, and future Hall of Famer have stymied serious discussions. But if the Nets get fed up enough with Irving’s erratic commitment, maybe they make a blockbuster deal.
Of course, there are pros and cons to any proposed transaction in the Association. And when it involves superstars being swapped for each other, it’s incredibly nuanced and a million times easier said than done. Regardless, we laid out a few reasons why Irving for Harden might make sense and a few more reasons why it maybe doesn’t.