The Dust Has Settled and The Sixers Finally Got Their Guy
The dust has settled on the NBA trade deadline and oh my goodness, Daryl Morey and the Sixers made it happen. After hours of frantic refreshing on social media, James Harden is a Philadelphia 76er. Here’s how it all feels with some time for the trade to sink:
James Freakin’ Harden, The Sixers Get The Guy:
Since the Sixers returned to relevancy around 2018, they have been what I’ve called the best 44 minute team in the league. Then, in the final four minutes they would run around like chickens with their heads cut off. Given Ben Simmons obvious weaknesses on offense and the supporting cast lacking as well, the paint tightened up for Joel Embiid. They lacked a dynamic guard capable of creating his own shot in the waning moments of a game. It led to blown leads, close losses and painful offensive possessions. James Harden seemingly feels like a cure all for that issue given he will go down as one of the greatest scorers in NBA history. You know pair a former MVP with the MVP front runner this season. In the process, the Sixers created a core of Embiid, Harden, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris. It takes the pressure off of all the other guys and gives them their best offensive unit in the Embiid era. As the cherry on top, the Sixers didn’t obliterate their depth to make this deal happen. They still hold valuable role players around their core in Matisse Thybulle, Georges Niang, Danny Green, Furkan Korkmaz and hopefully Shake Milton.
And for the crowd who is concerned about James Harden “quitting” on two teams, that seems overblown. Kyrie Irving disappeared last season for two weeks and the coach literally did not know where he was. This season, he wasn’t playing at all due to his vaccination status and now can only play road games. James Harden signed up fro a Big 3 and got frustrated when it turned into a Big 1.5. Can you blame him?
Feels Fantastic to Get The Elephant Out of the Room:
There has never been a bigger loser in Philadelphia sports history than Ben Simmons, which is really saying something in this city. It seems harsh and I was an avid fan of Simmons. But the last few months left me awestruck with his viewpoint on this city and this team.
Every article that dropped since Ben Simmons made it clear he wasn’t coming back blamed someone new. Whether it was the coach, the front office, Joel Embiid or even the fans, Ben Simmons always found someone aside from himself to fault for struggles. Simmons is right in the sense he isn’t totally to blame for the Sixers collapse against the Hawks last season in the playoffs. But, he certainly is far from blameless. His lack of accountability was not only infuriating, but shocking and insulting.
And when he begrudgingly showed up this season, he only did so to avoid fines and made its evident his motivation was money. And when physically standing in a corner wasn’t enough for the team, his agency faked a mental health crisis so Simmons could avoid fines. This comes after months of the Sixers front office, coaches and players trying to connect with him and help him.
He didn’t just quit on the 76ers, he vilified every single person he could on the way out to avoid even an ounce of criticism. Ironically, that strategy employed by Ben and his questionable agency, Klutch Sports, just led to more (deserved) criticism.
The Other Guys In The Deal:
Really sucks to lose good guys and good players like Seth Curry and Andre Drummond but that is the cost of doing business. They were great role players and fantastic for locker room chemistry. Despite their short time here, we should be very appreciative of what they brought to the table to make this a truly competitive team.
Seth Curry became expendable because there really isn’t much he does better offensively than Harden. It is why I was ecstatic not to see Matisse Thybulle in the deal. It would have been rough to trade your two best defenders in Simmons and Thybulle to a competitor. If it were Curry staying instead Thybulle, it would have left this team with one above average defender in their starting lineup in Embiid. It’s great to keep homegrown talent, well, home. Thybulle and Tyrese Maxey are cheap , young and productive. It’s exactly what you need when you have guys at the top chewing up most of your salary cap. Plus, they just are likable personalities who are easy to root for.
It really stings losing Andre Drummond. Ironically, he would have been fantastic in pick-and-roll situations with Harden. It was evident Drummond knew his role on this team which was to spell Embiid, rebound everything and provide some energy. There are certainly questions now about the hole left at back up center with Drummond leaving. If it is possible to have a drawback to acquiring a probably Hall of Fame in Harden, this is the one.
As for the draft picks, it’s honestly hard to care. Kudos to the Sixers for drafting so well recently. They got Thybulle and Maxey in back to back drafts. They landed Isiah Joe, Paul Reed, and Charles Bassey in the second round. Plus, they are working on Jaden Springer. It made the 2022 (or 2023) first round pick more expendable.
As for the 2027 first round pick, I TRULY do not care. By that time, I could be in war torn Ukraine after being drafted in the military to fight Russia. Or I could just flat out be dead by then because a Sixers championship caused my heart to stop. In which case, please spread my ashes at the parade.
Shoutout to Daryl Morey For Getting The Job Done:
Since being hired by the Sixers, here is what Morey has done to reshape this roster.
- Moved off the Al Horford contract (and got Danny Green in the process)
- Traded Josh Richardson for Seth Curry
- Drafted Tyrese Maxey
- Signed Georges Niang and Andre Drummond
- Acquired James Harden
He has done a wonderful job saving this team from their disastrous 2019 summer. It is hard not to be ecstatic about where this Sixers organization currently stands after years of trials and tribulations.