After the frantic events ahead of the trade deadline window, Kendrick Perkins wasn’t the only one baffled by the James Harden trade.
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The Orlando Magic have become the latest franchise to blow it all up. They sent Aaron Gordon to the Nuggets, Evan Fournier to Boston and All-Star Nikola Vucevic to the Bulls.
In the meanwhile, the Houston Rockets have gone all out in their attempts at a tank. They traded away Victor Oladipo to the Miami Heat in exchange for Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk and a pick swap.
Sources: Houston traded Victor Oladipo to Miami for Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk and a draft swap.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 25, 2021
This leaves the Rockets with none of the players it had acquired in the James Harden trade from January. Thus, they have become the butt of several jokes on NBA Twitter. Their weird approach to retooling their roster has also baffled analysts on all sides.
Kendrick Perkins reacts to the Victor Oladipo trade, calls out the Rockets for the James Harden deal
Kendrick Perkins is usually one of the more outspoken talking heads on TV. He put the Rockets’ front office on blast for their deadline day dealings, right in line with his image:
“So the Houston Rockets basically got nothing in return for James Harden huh?! SMH”
So the @HoustonRockets basically got nothing in return for James Harden huh?! SMH
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) March 25, 2021
Indeed, the Rockets seemed to have got a less than ideal haul for James Harden even at the time. By retaining none of those players, the Rockets are committing all of their hopes to the NBA Draft.
The pick swaps and extra picks might come in handy for the team on a later day, but they could, in theory, have landed Ben Simmons and almost a similar haul of picks too. It speaks to Tilman Fertitta’s terrible front office decisions in his short time as the Rockets’ owner.