A reminder: The Nets' last big trade -- for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce -- was a disaster

Hopefully, the James Harden trade doesn't turn into that.

The Brooklyn Nets are gambling with their future with the James Harden trade — and they’d better hope it doesn’t blow up in their faces like the last big deal they made involving future draft picks.

Because if their new Big 3 turns out like their other trade, it’s going to destroy the franchise for years to come.

Back in 2013, on the night of the NBA draft, the Boston Celtics agreed to send Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry, D.J. White, a first-rounder and a second-round pick to Brooklyn. In exchange? A giant group of players highlighted by Kris Humphries and Gerald Wallace. But it was the plethora of unprotected draft picks and swaps that was most noteworthy.

A 2014 first-rounder was 17th overall (the Celtics took James Young). The 2016 first-round pick was No. 3 overall and Boston took Jaylen Brown. In 2017, a pick swap resulted in the Celtics trading down with the Philadelphia 76ers, who got Markelle Fultz. The Celtics? At third overall, they took future superstar Jayson Tatum.

But wait! There’s more! The Celtics also traded the 2018 first-rounder the Nets gave them in the deal with the Cavaliers that netted them Kyrie Irving.

Imagine that. The Celtics built a contender with all of that. It took the Nets up until the 2019 offseason to get a roster that could contend.

This time around with Harden? It feels familiar:

That’s right: the Rockets now have three future first-rounders with no protections on them and four pick swaps. In the near future, some of those will be low picks.

But what if Kevin Durant opts out and leaves in 2022? What if Irving doesn’t come back to the franchise during this lengthy absence for personal reasons? What if the Nets fall short and Harden is disgruntled?

Suddenly, those picks in 2024 and beyond look very, very enticing.

Now, obviously this is a very different situation than the KG-Pierce-Terry trade. For one, Garnett and Pierce were well past their primes at the point they joined Brooklyn. For another, this is James Harden we’re talking about here, already an all-time great NBA scorer and facilitator. If there’s a time to shove all-in, it’s now, especially in a very winable East.

As long as the Nets win a ring, it’s worth it. But the hope is it isn’t the 2013 trade again.