Major 76ers Trade: Brooklyn Nets trade James Harden to Sixers for Ben Simmons
This trade revitalizes my Sixers interest and I'll likely be posting to this board somewhat regularly as this season plays out ...
nba.com
The Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers have completed a blockbuster trade centered around former Kia NBA MVP James Harden and former All-Star guard Ben Simmons, according to multiple reports.
Brooklyn receives:
• Ben Simmons
• Seth Curry
• Andre Drummond
• 2022 first-round pick (unprotected)
• 2027 first-round pick (protected)
Philadelphia receives:
• James Harden
• Paul Millsap
The move came just five days after coach Steve Nash said the Nets wouldn’t trade Harden and only 13 months after they acquired the 2018 NBA MVP to play with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
But Harden could have left this summer as a free agent and the Nets decided it wasn’t worth the risk to wait, ending their Big Three experiment after the trio played only 16 games together.
The Sixers can’t wait to test drive the Harden- Joel Embiid partnership.
Simmons did not play this season for the Sixers in the wake of a trade demand centered largely around hurt feelings coming off last season’s playoff loss. Simmons averaged 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists over four seasons with Philadelphia, which drafted him out of LSU, where he played only one season.
His defining moment as a Sixer came when he passed up a wide-open dunk against Atlanta in the second round of last year’s playoffs that would have tied the game late in Game 7.
The end of Simmons’ time in Philly came down to this: He was stung by comments made by coach Doc Rivers and Embiid in the aftermath of the Game 7 loss and how he shouldered the blame for the Sixers’ playoff woes.
His refusal to shoot beyond 15 feet — he is a 5 of 34 career 3-point shooter — and his postseason failures at the free-throw line have seemingly outweighed his playmaking ability and a spot last season on the All-Defensive first team.
Simmons made a surprise return to the Sixers shortly before the season opened, but was promptly kicked out of practice and suspended for one game. The punishment didn’t matter, the No. 1 pick of the 2016 draft had no intention of ever playing. He later cited mental health concerns.
Harden was set to miss his fourth straight game Thursday with a hamstring injury while trade rumors intensified.
The Nets acquired the three-time scoring champion from the Houston Rockets in a deal last January, with the idea that Harden, Durant and Irving would be too potent to stop. The Nets loaded up for a title run with three of the highest-paid players in the league but a championship run with them never materialized.
Harden and Irving were both hurt last year in the playoffs, and the Nets lost in the second round to eventual champion Milwaukee. With Irving not joining the Nets until December and Durant injured in January, the Nets got only two games out of their Big Three this season.
They are 2-10 since Durant sprained his left knee, an injury that could keep him out until after the All-Star break. With Irving ineligible to play in home games because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19 as mandated by New York City, it placed a heavy burden on Harden. Harden can become a free agent after the season, though he could pick up his $47.3 million player option.
The 76ers are getting an MVP-worthy year out of Embiid, and team President Daryl Morey — who was in the front office with Houston when Harden played for the Rockets — made the deadline deal to ensure the Sixers have plenty for the championship push.
Embiid leads the league in scoring with 29.4 points and has scored at least 25 points in 30 straight games. The pressure was on in Philly not to waste a season of his prime.
Morey made the trade while holding on to Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle, two young core players the Sixers believe can help snag them the top spot in the East. The Sixers were 1 1/2 games out of first place in the Eastern Conference entering Thursday’s action. They play consecutive home games on Friday and Saturday.
Sixers fans might want to start saving their cash for the March 10 game against the Nets. Tickets on the secondary market were asking for well above $1,000 for lower-bowl tickets and almost $200 for standing-room tickets at Wells Fargo Center.
Less than two hours after the trade, a billboard went up along I-95 welcoming Harden to Philadelphia. The billboard featured a silhouette of Harden’s face that read “The Beard is Here!”
ESPN first reported the deal.
Curry — Rivers’ son-in-law — gives the Nets outside shooting they have missed with Joe Harris out following ankle surgery. Drummond could start or play a key role off the bench for a team that has mostly played small.
The fresh start for the deal’s big stars also includes new uniform numbers. Harden’s 13 is retired in Philadelphia for Wilt Chamberlain, and Simmons’ No. 25 was retired by the Nets for Bill Melchionni.
“For us, we just look forward and get excited about what the next chapter looks like,” Nets coach Steve Nash said Thursday evening before Brooklyn played at Washington. “Just be ready to adapt, and fortunately for us we’ve had plenty of experience adapting.”
The picks the Nets acquired come with conditions. The 2027 first-round pick is protected for selections one through eight. Should it not convey in 2027, it becomes a 2028 first-round pick, protected selections one through eight. If the pick does not convey in the first round of the 2028 draft, it becomes a 2028 second-round pick and cash consideration.
The fresh start for the deal’s big stars also includes new uniform numbers. Harden’s 13 is retired in Philadelphia for Wilt Chamberlain, and Simmons’ No. 25 was retired by the Nets for Bill Melchionni. <<
>> Brooklyn Nets trade James Harden to Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond
Tim Bontemps
ESPN
February 10, 2022
espn.com
The Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers agreed to a blockbuster deal just hours before the trade deadline, with James Harden and Paul Millsap going to Philadelphia and Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round draft picks going to Brooklyn, the teams announced Thursday.
Brooklyn will receive Philadelphia's unprotected 2022 first-round pick, with the right to defer it to 2023, as well as a top-8-protected 2027 first-round pick, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. That pick would remain top-8 protected in 2028, and will turn into two second-round picks -- and $2 million in cash -- if it doesn't convey in either season, sources said.
The Nets also announced they are waiving DeAndre' Bembry to create roster room for the trade.
The deal allows both teams to move on from unhappy superstars who had been seeking trades.
For Philadelphia, it means the end of what has been a monthslong saga surrounding Simmons, who asked to be traded shortly after the Sixers lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs last season.
Outside of a brief cameo at practice in mid-October in the middle of training camp, Simmons hasn't been around the team since and has not played in a game this season. Sources told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne that Simmons will continue to work with his therapist to get mentally ready to play in Brooklyn.
"It's a work in progress," one source close to Simmons told Shelburne.
Simmons has already talked to Nets star Kevin Durant and general manager Sean Marks, his agent, Rich Paul, told Wojnarowski. Simmons is eager to join the Nets and ramp up for a return to play this season, according to Paul.
"We've got work to do to get him back to play, but it's a great step in right direction," Paul told Wojnarowski.
While Nets head coach Steve Nash couldn't speak specifically about the trade yet given that it hadn't become official, he did acknowledge an air of relief for his team that the deadline finally passed after all the speculation that hung over the organization.
"I think it's positive for everyone to have the deadline pass," Nash said before Thursday night's loss to the Washington Wizards. "And so there's no more stuff hanging over everyone's head or everyone wondering what's going to happen. I think there's kind of a finality to it that helps everyone move forward."
The relationship between Harden and the Nets, meanwhile, broke down in recent days, with sources telling Wojnarowski that Harden had declined to formally ask for a trade, fearing the backlash of doing so for the second time in a little more than a year.
But after the Nets traded four first-round picks and three swaps, plus center Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert, a little over a year ago after Harden forced his way out of Houston following eight-plus seasons with the Rockets, the former league MVP is now on his way again.
Harden has exercised his $47.4 million player option for the 2022-23 season as part of the trade, a source confirmed to ESPN's Bobby Marks. The 10-time All-Star is eligible to sign a four-year, $223 million extension with Philadelphia in August.
The 76ers canceled practice Thursday afternoon, with coach Doc Rivers saying it was the "human" thing to do, given all the noise that had surrounded his team over the past several months.
"It was strange," Rivers said. "I canceled practice. There's just so much stuff that's gone on, so many rumors. I just thought the human thing to do instead of the coaching thing was just to be very straightforward with our guys and tell them I get it. Everybody's names and all this stuff.
"So we'll do shootaround tomorrow with our team, guaranteed."
That team will now include Harden and Millsap but will not include Simmons or Curry, who also happens to be Rivers' son-in-law. Curry is averaging 15 points and 4 assists while shooting 40% from 3-point range, and has developed strong chemistry with Philadelphia superstar center Joel Embiid.
But that wasn't enough to prevent a deal from taking place. The inclusion of Curry allows the 76ers to retain their two premium young players, guard Tyrese Maxey and third-year forward Matisse Thybulle. Drummond will give Brooklyn some additional size inside, something the Nets have lacked this season.
Brooklyn, sources told Wojnarowski, continues to be engaged on deals ahead of the deadline as it continues to reshape its roster.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, can finally move forward with the Simmons situation behind it -- and with Harden reunited with 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who traded for him in Houston.
The Nets remained the consensus favorites to win the NBA title after Thursday's trade. Caesars Sportsbook kept the Nets at 4-1 to win the championship, while shortening the 76ers from 12-1 to 7-1.
Other oddsmakers, however, dropped Brooklyn back in their NBA title odds. The SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas moved the Nets from 6-1 to 10-1 on Thursday. The SuperBook has the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns as co-favorites to win the title, each at 9-2. The 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks are next, each at 6-1. The Nets are the favorites at the majority of sportsbooks.
The 76ers sat 3 games out of first place in the Eastern Conference, and Rivers said that was a credit to his players for how they've handled everything that has happened.
"They were great. They all were great. We did watch a little bit of film, we had a lot of laughs together, and I told them about our team and how proud I was of where we were at to this point," he said. "I think a lot of people thought before this year without having our All-Star, our other All-Star, we wouldn't be in this spot, and we are a [3 games] out of the top spot, and that's why in return I thought today, from a coaching standpoint, the right thing to do was to allow you guys to have your day.
"We'll reconvene tomorrow, and where we're at is where we're at."
Where they are at is with Harden -- and without the future of Simmons hanging over them.
ESPN's Nick Friedell, David Purdum and Bobby Marks contributed to this report.
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- Eric L - |
