Each Had Their Own Motives

The Nets' front office had poured their hearts into pulling off this four-team trade, calling in every favor they could. They'd even dug deep and sent Walker away along with a quality rim protector in Jarrett Allen and a precious first-round pick...

Fortunately, with Claxton and Aldridge on the roster, Allen wasn't exactly an untouchable asset.

Whatever the case, they'd ultimately gotten their wish and pulled off this blockbuster trade, landing James Harden.

At last, the final piece of the puzzle on their road to a championship was theirs!

"Now, I've got everything I need!!"

From today on, Brooklyn had leaped to the top of the League on paper!

Durant, Harden, George, Aldridge, and a host of excellent role players.

Such a top-tier lineup was practically unbeatable, leaving the other teams with no choice but to look up at them.

After the trade went through, the media rushed to praise the Nets' front office for its masterful maneuvering, as well as Durant's star power.

They said, "Kevin Durant has finally put together another superteam to rival the Cosmic Warriors!!"

Brooklyn was suddenly the talk of the League, and the team's market value was showing signs of another surge...

As for the motives of the other teams involved in the four-team trade...

Cleveland's were easy to understand. With Morant and Sexton, they had an abundance of guards.

At the same time, they badly needed a high-level big man to hold down the paint.

So, while moving on from veteran Rondo, they also used a first-round pick that wasn't especially valuable to acquire a talented big man like Allen from the Nets.

For them, the trade was a reasonable success.

As for the big man they'd originally relied on, Kevin Love...

The key player in their 2016 championship had, in the end,