The Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers have agreed in principle to trade James Harden for Ben Simmons. While the player swap is centered around the two disgruntled perimeter players, other key pieces are involved in the blockbuster trade. As a part of the deal, the 76ers are also sending Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round draft picks to the Nets.
The highly anticipated trade reunites James Harden with front-office guru Daryl Morey. During his previous stint as the general manager for the Houston Rockets, he orchestrated a trade to acquire James Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder back in 2012. Over the course of the nine years that followed, James Harden won an MVP award while Daryl Morey collected an Executive of the Year Award. The Houston Rockets also appeared in the Western Conference Finals twice. Now that the two men are a part of the Philadelphia 76ers organization, they are going to be expected to win a championship with the front-runner for this year's MVP award, Joel Embiid. In order to finalize the trade today, James Harden also agreed to exercise his $47.37 million player option with the Philadelphia 76ers for the 2022-23 season.
As for the Brooklyn Nets, the addition of Ben Simmons will provide the team with some much-needed size and perimeter defense. Nevertheless, the acquisition of the 6'10 point guard is a bit risky because he has not played a game since he fizzled out in the 76ers' playoff elimination loss to the Atlanta Hawks last season. During the playoff series, Ben Simmons had some very notable mental lapses that ultimately contributed to his team being bounced from the playoffs by an inexperienced underdog. He has since remained out of the public eye, citing his need for self-care and the restoration of his mental health amid the onslaught of public shaming that he endured after the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
The Nets and 76ers both play in the same division and the two teams are currently separated by three games in the standings. For more on this story, click the link below.
Source: ESPN
