BY BANKS HALVORSON
The Brooklyn Nets have
traded All-Star guard James
Harden to the Philadelphia
76ers, which brings troubled
superstar Ben Simmons to
Brooklyn, along with Andre
Drummond, Seth Curry, and
two first round picks.
The tensions at Barclays
Center could only boil for
so long, and after weeks of
speculation and the Nets’
worst run in their new era,
the dam finally broke — ending
weeks of speculation
about Harden’s happiness on
Brooklyn’s ball team.
In the end, Harden clearly
wanted out — and although
his specific reasons for his
desire to exit weren’t clear,
the product on the court was
suffering as a result.
The Nets have lost their
last nine games, along with
16 of their last 22, which
represents a serious rough
patch that has left them
floundering in eighth in the
Eastern Conference.
For a team fresh off a
heartbreaking Game 7 loss
to the Bucks in the conference
semifinals, and returning
one of the best rosters
in the NBA, these kinds
of runs are understandably
unacceptable to management
— especially franchise
owner Joe Tsai, who has
spent considerable finances
to shape the Nets into a playoff
contender.
The 76ers, while better off
in the standings currently
sitting Fifth Place, have had
one of the most public holdout
sagas in recent NBA
memory with Ben Simmons.
The Australian-born phenom
hasn’t played all year,
COURIER LIFE, F 30 EBRUARY 18-24, 2022
Former Nets Guard James Harden has been traded to the 76ers. REUTERS
and has made clear his intentions
to be done with
his time in Philadelphia —
and General Manager Daryl
Morey has played a poorlydealt
had well, connecting
perennial-MVP Joel Embiid
with Harden, who Morey
knows especially well from
their shared time with the
Rockets.
The Nets haul shouldn’t
entirely disappoint fans,
though, as the 76ers had to
pay up for the opportunity
to snag Brooklyn’s bearded
shooting guard. There is legitimate
reason to believe
that a team with Kevin Durant,
Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons,
and a great supporting
cast should still be the
favorites to win the NBA Finals.
But there is still drama to
take care of with Irving, and
the task at hand is no easier
as the Nets sit in a play-in
spot as the trade deadline approaches.
Hard out here
Nets All-Star James Harden
traded to 76ers, Brooklyn
gets Simmons
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