Copy and pasting from the daily discussion thread. Man, some of the negative reactions on the Harden trade are wild. As someone who obviously wanted him, this is a huge win IMO.

Who we lost: Simply put, we lost 4 guys who were realistically competing for 1 (maybe 2), bench spots when Mann returns. Don’t get me wrong, they brought nice things. RoCo and Nico have some very good defensive abilities, but ultimately, their presence isn’t strongly felt against elite level talent, and they are completely unreliable offensively. KJM has elite athleticism, but even in limited minutes, it was clear we weren’t a team that could immediately benefit from him or unlock his potential. We then lost Mook, which has been one of our fanbase’s biggest fucking ask since 10 games into last season. We are free, people.

Draft implications: We lost our 2028 pick outright, and now don’t have control over our picks in 2027 (OKC swap) and 2029 (PHI swap). We shouldn’t downplay the importance of picks, but some of ya’ll are acting like this dooms us, which isn’t true. Very few teams are able to truly rebuild from the draft. On top of this, drafting has so much luck involved, and talent is available all over the draft. Let’s look at the Rockets, Magic, and Pistons. For starters, they’ve had high picks and play-ins would still be an accomplishment for them.

These teams have some awesome prospects that I am high on… as well as some meh guys drafted really high. Duren and Sengun are arguably some of the more impactful players right now, and they were drafted at 13 (via a silly trade) and 16. Meanwhile, Jalen Green, Killian Hayes, and Jabari were drafted top 10, and they are nowhere near franchise changing players. The point is, there is NBA talent throughout the draft. Yes, there are some sure first guys (Wemby, Embiid, Ant, etc.) that almost certainly will help, but that’s literally a lottery dominated by teams actively trying to lose.

It would be one thing if we didn’t have any picks, but we still do. We’ll have our chance on draft night to still grab an impactful player.

What we gained: In terms of what we got back, there should be absolutely 0 discussion on if we improved. We swapped 4 bench guys for fucking James Harden. Yes, there are reasons to be critical of him, but he’s simply a really fucking good player. We now have another elite passer/facilitator/playmaker alongside Russ, we have insurance for 213+Russ, and we have an absolute floor raiser. Yes, there are playoff concerns (just like there were for PG), but it helps dramatically that there is simply more star talent. Harden and PG can both struggle, but if Russ/Kawhi have good games, then we’re rolling. Now do that with any combination of them, and our path to victory seems so much more open on any given game. PJ Tucker is a good culture guy, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a few minutes of run out there for rebounds + intensity.

What we maintained: We kept fucking Mann and Powell. That’s huge. If Kawhi/PG goes down, not only do we maintain star talent, but we still have starter level players in the rotation to help buoy them as well. They also admittedly offer added roster flexibility in the event we want to make another move (which I’m expecting for Norm). Lastly, for all of ya’ll who wanted to see Kobe Brown… well, this was a necessary pathway to do that. I also think out of all of the vets to teach him, PJ Tucker is probably the best guy to have as his mentor.

TL;DR: We cleared out roster congestion, got far more talented, got 213 insurance, and still have flexibility and draft picks. The draft is tons of luck, and the fact that we still have those picks gives us a shot in those years.