TAMPA — Raptors coach Nick Nurse says he will watch with interest the fallout of last week's blockbuster four-team trade that sent James Harden from Houston to Brooklyn.
He called it a "hell of a story."
"I got to think that a lot of the teams, if not all of them, are pretty happy with what it ended up," Nurse told reporters prior to Toronto's game against Dallas in Tampa on Monday.
"Even some of the minor parts of the deal — I think that (guard Caris) LeVert's a hell of a player for Indiana. I think he'll help them. (Centre Jarrett) Allen's a good player who will help Cleveland. I think Houston's happy with all of the assets they accumulated. And then obviously all the talk and focus is on Brooklyn and how high-powered they can be with all those guys.
"So I guess we can all place our bets on what we think is going happen. But we've just got to watch it play out. From my standpoint, I hope it flops for all three teams in the East," he added with a laugh. "I don't really care what Houston does. But I hope it doesn't turn out for any of them."
In exchange for Harden, Houston got three unprotected first-round picks from Brooklyn (2022, 2024 and 2026) and the right to swap first-round selections with the Nets in 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027. Houston also got Milwaukee's 2022 first-round pick from Cleveland.
The Rockets also acquired three players: Victor Oladipo from the Pacers, Dante Exum from the Cavaliers and Rodions Kurucs from the Nets. The Nets, meanwhile, sent Allen and forward Taurean Prince to Cleveland while LeVert ended up in Indiana.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2021
The Canadian Press
