WS Chronicle

The Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets agreed to a blockbuster trade deal hours before the trade deadline last week. Brooklyn sent James Harden and Paul Millsap to Philly for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round draft picks.

Brooklyn will receive the 76ers unprotected 2022 first-round pick, with the right to defer to 2023, along with a top-8-protected 2027 first-round pick, first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The 2027 pick would remain top-8-protected in 2028 and will turn into two second-round picks and $2 million in cash if the pick doesn’t convey in either season, sources said.

We have known since the offseason that Simmons wanted out of Philly and there were multiple reports that Harden was done with Brooklyn; however, I didn’t think the two teams would pull together a deal in the final hours before the deadline.

Once I had the opportunity to look at the trade and let it sit in my mind for a day, I realized that the Nets pulled off a very good heist of the 76ers. They were able to unload an aging unhappy player and in return receive a young, hungry-to-prove-himself player in Simmons, a good defender and rebounder in Drummond, one of the best shooters in the game with Curry, and two first-round draft picks. Wow!

With the offensive firepower at their disposal when fully healthy, the Nets don’t need much offensively from Simmons, but what he brings on the defensive end and playmaking more than make up for those deficiencies.

Simmons has the capability to guard nearly every position on the floor. There are very few, if any other, players in the league capable of doing the same. He also will probably be the fourth option as far as scoring goes, so he will not have as much pressure on him to score and can concentrate on what he does best, which is facilitate.

The biggest question mark for Simmons is his lack of activity. He has not played or practiced with the team outside of one off-season practice. It would be hard for anyone to just jump right into playing an NBA game with that length of inactivity. 

Drummond is also a big pickup for the Nets. Like Simmons, he does not provide much in the way of scoring, but his other skills will make up for that. His defense and rebounding ability will provide second chance shots for not only himself but also for his teammates. The Nets were also thin in the front court so Drummond should be able to log valuable minutes right off the bat for Brooklyn.

Draft picks are very unpredictable. Picking up two first-round draft picks could mean selecting a valuable member of your rotation, a possible trade piece, or a bust; who knows. The Nets are built to win now and I don’t think they are looking to use these picks to select players for now. However, they could be used as valuable trade pieces if they look to bolster their roster in the off-season or ahead of next year’s trade deadline.

Last, but definitely not least is the addition of Seth Curry. While in Philly, Curry proved that he’s not just Steph’s little brother, but in fact, he is one of the best shooters in the game and can be a valuable asset to any roster in the league. Before the trade, Curry was averaging 15 ppg and shooting 40% from three-point range. 

I am not trying to downplay the value of James Harden with my take on the trade. I still feel he is a great player, but I am not sure how well he will mesh with Joel Embiid in Philadelphia. Harden hasn’t seemed happy with any of his teammates since his early days in Houston. He became unhappy there and requested a trade to Brooklyn. He gets to Brooklyn and only plays a handful of games with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant and he becomes unhappy once again and gets traded. What makes me think playing with Embiid will be any different?

Harden is a ball-dominant player that needs the rock to impact the game. Embiid also needs the ball to be his most effective, so which player defers to the other? Do they both sacrifice for the greater good, or will a pecking order be defined and both players go with it?

There are a lot of questions there which is why I feel the Nets won the trade. The pieces they acquired are sort of plug-and-play guys that can fit in well with Brooklyn because there is a need on the team for all of their skill sets.

Even though I think this move makes the Nets and Philly better basketball teams, I still don’t feel they are in the top two in the Eastern Conference. The Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, and Miami Heat are better overall teams right now. We will see what the remainder of the season holds.

I just have to admit that it would have been nice to see what a full season and postseason run with Durant, Harden, and Irving would have looked like. I truly feel that was the best collection of talent we have seen out of any Big Three in the history of the league. Too bad injuries and vaccine status deprived us of that.

I really feel if the Nets can keep everyone healthy, they have a great chance to become the team to beat in the East come playoff time.