Four NBA teams decided to change the league via a big trade and they did it on Wednesday.

The Houston Rockets, the Brooklyn Nets, the Indiana Pacers and the Cleveland Cavaliers launched a four-team blockbuster that sent 2018 NBA MVP and three-time scoring champion James Harden to the Nets. He will join hands with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving (maybe) at Barclays Center.

These are the highlights of the trade released so far:

• The Nets acquired Harden and a 2024 second-round pick, and traded Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince, Rodions Kurucs, three first-round picks and four draft swaps.

• The Rockets traded Harden and a 2023 second-round pick, acquired Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, four first-rounders (2022, 2022 of Milwaukee Bucks from Cavaliers, 2024 and 2026) and four first-rounder swaps (2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027), all unprotected.

• The Pacers acquired LeVert and a 2023 second-rounder, traded Oladipo.

• The Cavaliers traded Exum and a 2024 second-rounder, acquired Allen and Prince.

After the second straight humiliating loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, Harden told a press conference: "We're not even close honestly to, obviously, the defending champions (Lakers) and all the other elite teams out there. I mean, you can tell the difference in these last two games. Chemistry, talent-wise, everything. It's clear. I love this city. I've literally done everything I can. It's crazy. I don't think it can be fixed. Thanks."

That probably was the straw that broke the camel's back and prompted the Rockets to make up their minds for the trade.

They were reportedly more interested in trading Harden for Ben Simmons with the Philadelphia 76ers. However, the 76ers did not want to trade Simmons, Matisse Thybulle and Tyrese Maxey together for Harden and thus rejected the deal. That's probably why the Rockets turned to the Nets.

Of course, that did not keep the Rockets from gaining much from the trade.

When Oladipo was healthy, he was a two-time All-Star. In 2018, he was also named to the All-NBA Third Team and All-Defensive First Team. He averaged 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.4 steals in that season. Oladipo has only been held back by injuries since then. 

So has John Wall and he seems to be recovering well with the Rockets. There's a good chance that he and Oladipo can make a top defensive backcourt pair this time. Even if Oladipo really loses his edge or he does not build chemistry with the team, he only has one year left of his contract. The Rockets can simply let him go in the summer. Their future is more than bright with the tons of first-round draft picks they received via the trade.

The deal did not hurt the Pacers either. Oladipo has played 69 games (including four playoffs games) for the team since the 2017-18 season. The Pacers already knew how to play without him, not to mention the drama Oladipo caused regarding his stance on not extending his deal.

LeVert proved what he was capable of in the bubble in Orlando last season. Though he went through some ups and downs this season because of his role with the Nets, the 26-year-old has the potential to be a team leader. The Pacers can rely on Malcolm Brogdon to handle the ball, Domantas Sabonis to work offense under the hoop and Myles Turner to protect the rim. LeVert has what they could not provide until now: explosive athleticism and the ability to pierce defenses.

By the way, LeVert is also two years younger than Oladipo and has three years left of his contract that is worth a very economical $52.5 million.

The Cavaliers hardly had any plan for Exum so they barely felt anything by letting him go. They landed Allen, a young rim protector who can always put himself among the top 10 plays of the day by delivering a nasty block. If you worry about his strength, the Cavaliers have Andre Drummond for that and now they have probably the most complete defensive big man group: JaVale McGee, Drummond, Larry Nance Jr. and Allen.

Furthermore, the Cavaliers are currently the second-best defensive team in the league. Don't be surprised if Allen helps them get even better.

Finally, let's talk about the Nets.

Harden and Durant claimed seven of the 11 scoring titles between 2010 and 2020. Harden, Irving and Durant are all top 10 isolation scorers in NBA history. Each of them is able to score 50+ points in one game as long as they want to.

When all three are on the floor, opponents do not even have enough manpower to double-team everyone.

Nonetheless, the usage of them last season was 36.3 percent (Harden), 32.6 percent (Irving) and 29.0 percent (Durant, 2018-19). Harden and Russell Westbrook together took 2,795 field goal attempts last season. None of the rest of the Rockets reached even 600. Harden and Irving both needed to dribble the ball to find a rhythm before launching offense.

When Durant won two consecutive championships with the Golden State Warriors, he was in Steve Kerr's give-and-go system, not to mention it was Stephen Curry, one of the best off-ball superstars in NBA history, who was playing by his side. Now Durant will be teammates with two dribbling monsters.

However, the Nets have to make this trade. Both Durant and Irving have the option to become free agents in summer 2022, leaving the team only two years to chase the throne. Now that they have ruled Spencer Dinwiddie out because of injury, Irving is again lost in his own world and Durant, who suffered an Achilles tendon injury less than two years ago, is overloading on the court to carry the team.

Getting Harden can at least keep the Nets competitive in the regular season. If Irving still wants to play basketball, he and the other two have the potential to make the most powerful offensive squad in history.

Of course, the Nets do not enjoy depth in their lineup anymore. Steve Nash may have to go extreme in rotation. The new Big 3 plus Joe Harris will definitely take four spots in the clutch time lineup. The perimeter defense they can offer raises the necessity of keeping someone with both size and power in the paint. That should be DeAndre Jordan but he has been watching his minutes on the floor drop since this season started. Perhaps Nash will have to bet on the small-ball squad in which Jeff Green plays center.

One financial consequence of the four-team trade is that both the Rockets and the Pacers managed to lower their salaries below the luxury tax line. Compared with them, the Nets will watch Durant, Harden and Irving earn over $115 million this season. That's already bigger than the total salary number of five NBA teams. Nets owner Joseph Tsai said at the beginning of the season he fears no tax. Now he gets it. Will it be worth it? Who knows.