To BOS: Harden
To HOU: Walker, Langford, Nesmith, BOS 2024 1st round pick (top 1 protection), and 1st round swaps with BOS in 2022 and 2023 (i.e., between our first round pick and Houston’s first round pick in each of these years, Houston always gets the better pick)
https://tradenba.com/trades/LAKhLpMoGCommentary: It’s evident that nobody is willing to give Houston a young stud like JB, Simmons, etc. or the trade would have happened by now. It’s even possible Kemba is the only all-star they can possibly get for Harden (certainly the only 2020 all-star starter). It is not impossible to envision Kemba at PG with Wall at SG as providing almost as much firepower as borderline playoff teams in the west. In addition, Kemba and/or Wall can later be flipped for additional picks. The inclusion of Langford and Nesmith enables Houston to spin the haul as “one all-star, two recent lottery picks, and three improvement picks in future drafts.” Their inclusion ensures the move does not alter our cap situation (i.e., retain TPE).
If we’re confident of Harden/Tatum/Brown being successful, we’re upgrading Kemba with Harden by giving up an upper 20s pick in 2024 and two guys who have shown us little in the NBA the past year despite their lottery status. If the Harden experiment falters, we’ve still got Tatum/Brown/Smart to build around and only lack our pick in 2024, and with much more cap space going into the 2023 offseason (if the cap is managed accordingly in 2022 if it’s obvious the Harden experiment is faltering, it’s possible to have cap space to pair Tatum/Brown with an elite free agent like Jokic) rather than sticking with Kemba.
Rotate based on matchups/fatigue:
Harden/Teague/Pritchard
Smart/(Harden/Brown)
Brown/G. Williams/Ojeyele
Tatum/Theis
TT/R. Williams
Next priority is the TPE or perhaps you save it for a sign-and-trade next offseason (Harden recruitment)?