In the early hours of this morning, two hours into the trade cutdown, the Nets made a trade in the finale: the Nets sent James Harden and Millsap in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Drummond and two draft picks. This transaction is unexpected and reasonable. In the final days of the trade deadline, as Harden's attitude became clear, the Nets and the 76ers opened trade negotiations, and it is almost certain that Harden will not continue to play for the Nets this season.
Unexpectedly, the value of the nets' trading chips is not high, in other words, this is not a win-win deal, and the decisions the Nets made under duress seem to make their own losses. For the 76ers, because of Simmons' special circumstances this season, it looks like they only paid For Seth Curry and Drummond, as well as two innocuous draft picks, to get Harden. While Harden's athletic form has declined this season, even so, Harden's trade value is not comparable to Simmons, who has not played in a season. If not limited by the trade deadline, the Nets could lengthen the front and get more trading chips in the negotiations. The Nets have suffered a rush to lose money, and the Nets' big three have only played together for 16 games before separating again, which may become the shortest-lived combination of the big three in NBA history.
After trading Harden, Irving's situation once again attracted the attention of the media from all sides. According to Irving's agent, Irving's attitude toward vaccination has changed, and perhaps Irving will complete the vaccination at some time. At this juncture, it is difficult not to doubt Irving's true thoughts, applying for full-time play immediately after Harden left, Irving made it clear that he was squeezing Harden and letting Harden leave the Nets, which may be Irving's real idea. If Irving can play full-time after the trade with Harden, then the Nets and Durant have received a windfall, making the deal look more like a win-win.
In this world, perhaps only Durant can really understand Owen's ideas. In recent years, some of Owen's behavior has really made people scratch their heads, so that now what kind of behavior Owen does, everyone is not surprised. As early as last season, when the Nets and the Rockets discussed a deal with Harden, Irving avoided becoming a trading chip and missed the Nets for no reason, highlighting the attributes of the locker room tumor, making the Rockets refuse to take over Irving. Perhaps it was Harden's strong performance this season that gave Irving a sense of crisis — even if there was only Durant and Harden, the Nets still retained the strength to win the championship. In Owen's view, the Nets are his and Durant's team, Harden's half-way entry has gradually marginalized Irving, and Owen, who wants to become the leader of the team, naturally can't stand this feeling, so he sacrifices his chance to play to force Harden to take the initiative to leave.
Hopefully, Irving will be able to complete the vaccination this season, and the Nets have a chance to break through in the crowded East. Otherwise, with Durant and the playoff version of Simmons, plus part-time Irving, the Nets' record may not experience another nine-game losing streak, but the situation will not be greatly improved. Don't forget, Simmons in the playoffs is just a defensive tip, and with Harris on the verge of season reimbursement, the Nets also have to take the risk of "cutting Simmons" tactics, and the Nets' offensive problems will become one of the most intractable problems. Only if Irving plays full-time can the Nets' offensive ability be guaranteed, otherwise, even if Durant's death comes, he will only waste his efforts.
In today's All-Star Captain Selection Session, James and Durant, as the captains of the East-West All-Star Teams, made their own team selections. In the end, Harden was forced to enter the James team, Durant did not think about the old feelings, in the first 12 places, Durant avoided Harden. This may be able to see some clues, the feelings between the Nets' big three are not as strong as the outside world imagines. Since the Nets and the 76ers opened trade negotiations, Durant has not spoken out, but before last night's trade, Durant retweeted and liked the tweet about the Harden deal, and Max chose to trade Harden, not without Durant's approval.
The two sides got together and Harden left for another team he thought would help him win the championship. If the two sides are at odds with each other in the playoffs, the truth can be revealed about who is the real winner of the deal.