While Durant, Irving and others have publicly expressed their desire for Harden to stay in the past few days; and a few hours before the trade deadline, Nash once again stressed that Harden would stay; the trade happened in the final moments, the Nets sent Harden, and Millsap got Simmons, Curry Jr., Chuang Shen, as well as an unprotected 2022 first-round pick and a protected 2027 first-round pick.
As long as Simmons can't practice shooting, the Nets will go down the playoffs
Although in the past period of time, there have been new York media shooting at Harden, saying that he is not capable of leading the team, saying that he has the problem of playing style, and wanting to change teams for two consecutive years; but the clear-eyed people are very clear that this time really can't blame Harden. After all, Irving, Durant, harden are the last of Harden to come, change the most, fight the longest, and be scolded the most fiercely. If the three of them played less time at the same time last season, it was caused by a damn injury; then after Irving did not vaccinate this year and completely destroyed the Nets' chemistry, what reason did Harden have to stay in the Nets?
The Nets smashed the pot and sold iron to get Harden to form the Big Three, and the result was that the three people played 16 games and broke up, which must be one of the biggest jokes in NBA history. But for the Nets, when they know very well that if Harden is not traded at this time, Harden may choose to jump out of the contract in the summer, sign the 76ers naked and play the situation of chicken and egg, then trading Harden can also be understood as recovering some losses!
But while the Nets are trying to recover as much as possible, we should also see that after the trade, the Nets' competitiveness in the playoffs has actually weakened.
The Nets have exposed two extremes in many games this season; the lineup they can defend, the offensive space is extremely poor, and the lineup they can attack cannot be defended. Among these people who came back from the Nets, it seems that Little Curry, Simmons, and Zhuang Shen can help the team in a certain link; but the little Curry who can attack can't defend, and the Zhuang Shen and Simmons who can defend can basically ignore the projection ability shown before...
When the Nets' backcourt has Mills and Irving, two small guards who need to occupy a lot of playing time, Joe Ha is not high, and the defense is not very good, and then trade to Little Curry, these backcourt players are so small, there is no way to build ah! And Simmons' arrival seems to give the Nets a suitable person to deal with the alphabet; but Irving and Durant can accept the whole game, the ball is controlled by Simmons, can he pull away twice? Can Owen say yes?
The unvaccinated Owen himself is a "giant baby", and now there is Simmons this "giant baby"; it is hard to imagine what Durant, and Ade who risked a comeback, would think. After the trade, it seems that the Nets have more people available; but when it comes to the playoffs, it is a short rotation of 8 to 9 people, Nash played the Bucks last year, and finally it was a direct 6-man rotation, so what is the use of the Nets? In the playoffs, when the rotation of the teams is fixed, there are some players who look good, and Nash will not use them again. And Simmons shot 34.2 percent from the free throws in last year's playoffs, facing Trey. Young's defenses do not dare to attack the basket, and in the past few years, they will be targeted in the playoffs, and they are the only core guard in the league who will be chased and slashed by the other side, unless he practices shooting in the "missing" months, otherwise after this deal, the Nets' competitiveness in playoffs will definitely go down.
With the best reinforcement at the lowest cost, the 76ers need to make up a large front if they want to compete for the title
The nets have been passing the nets on the added heads of harden and Simmons swap trades over the past few days; but eventually Curry Jr. and Chuang Shen sent them away, and Maxie and Sable stayed. And the two first-round picks they sent, this summer's (or next summer's) are most likely the end of the first round, and this position is basically equivalent to scratching the lottery. And the first round pick in 27 years, two consecutive years of 1-8 protection; once the 76ers really messed up, and triggered two years of protection, the signing will be converted to 2 second round picks and $2 million in cash in 29 years; this also shows from the side that the 76ers' deal is not willing to overdraft the future!
And Embiid has entered the golden age of his career, and the 76ers don't want to waste it, which is the key to finding ways to get Harden. And with Harden, Sebel and Maxi, the two good role players still left, this deal is 76ers blood from any point of view.
After the deal was completed, Perkins had publicly boasted that "Harden + Embiid is the best duo in basketball!" Embiid + Harden + Sable + Maxi + Tobias. Harris' starting five-man group also looks like it has both offense and defense, and this 76ers will attack the championship.
But after the deal is completed, at least on paper, the 76ers aren't enough to beat the Bucks...
Compared with the Bucks' core structure has been very mature, getting Harden means that the 76ers' tactics will be adjusted a lot; and Embiid is actually a good singles player, blocking and dismantling, and ending without the ball is obviously not the emperor's most powerful skill. And Tobias. As soon as Harris arrived in the playoffs, the three-pointer pulled his crotch; Tielin's current three-pointers were also miserable, and the three-pointers of Sable, Milton, and Kolkmaz were also six-veined Excalibur, and in fact, the 76ers' offense could be sharpened into a question mark.
And the Bucks have grabbed Ibaka, Big Luo can come out as soon as March 20, hoarding enough inside to deal with Embiid, the backcourt can make Holliday, Allen, Connaughton, Matthews, Middleton wheel war consume Harden; on the contrary, after the 76ers sent away Simmons, their two-meter forward line is more suitable for Midleton, they simply do not have a player who can match the letters, really want to cross the Bucks, the 76ers also need to grab a large front line in the buyout market!