The Nets and Harden eventually went their separate ways.
In the early morning of February 11, Beijing time, the Nets sent Harden and Paul Millsap to the 76ers, replacing Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Drummond, the 2022 first-round pick and the first eight picks in 2027 to protect the first-round picks.
At this point, the cooperation of the shortest-lived three giants in history ended.
393 days, 16 games. There are no champions, only chicken feathers.
Demystify the inside story of the nets' big three dissolution
After the news of Harden being sent to the 76ers came out, "The Athletic" insider reporter Walden exposed the fierce material, saying that Kyrie Owen's attitude towards Harden's sending away was "happy", Harden did not like Irving, and Irving was not happy with Harden's arrival to affect his tactical position.
Irving is by no means the only reason Harden made up his mind to leave the Nets, but it is definitely one of the core reasons. In fact, before Harden joined the Nets through a trade on January 14, 2021, this bane was already planted. In the year that followed, the Nets' Big Three went from honeymoon to dissolution, and Irving's reasons ran through it.
Harden joined the Nets node, Irving is in a state of unprovoked departure. Nets general manager Sean Marcos also admitted that Irving did not even ask for leave before leaving the team, and insiders revealed that Nets owner Tsai Chongxin was very dissatisfied with Irving's approach. Later, the US media exposed the video of Irving attending a party during his departure, and Irving missed 7 consecutive games because of his unprovoked departure and the triggering of epidemic prevention regulations. On January 17, 2021, when Harden made his Nets debut, Irving, who was not injured or sick, did not play at all.
For Irving, who was bundled with Durant to join the Nets, the Nets management chose to tolerate, and many reviews at the time suggested that the Nets hurry to trade Irving, but the Nets management chose to keep him.
On January 21, 2021, the Nets challenged the Cavaliers on the road, Irving finally returned, and the Nets made their debut in the big three. In that game, the Nets lost 135-147 after double overtime, and the Nets' big three combined to blast down 96 points. On January 24, the Nets' big three ushered in their first win after the combination, and the Nets beat the Heat by four points, and the big three combined to shoot down 71 points. It seems that the Nets Big Three are moving in the right direction, but Durant first triggered a three-game suspension from the health and safety agreement, and then suddenly missed 23 consecutive games due to a hamstring injury after returning to play against the Warriors, and did not come back until the game with the Pelicans on April 8.
During Durant's absence, Irving missed 7 games due to finger injuries, leave of absence, knee injuries and other reasons. The Big Three couldn't play together, harden was saddled with a heavy load, and playing a game for 40 minutes was routine. As a result, after entering April, Harden's body could not be carried, and the hamstring was injured. After a relapse from an old injury against the Knicks on April 6, Harden missed 18 consecutive games.
In the entire regular season, the Nets' big three have only played 8 games. Playoffs. After Harden health played the first round, the second round played the first game with the Bucks less than a minute before he again suspended due to a hamstring injury. In game 4 with the Bucks, Irving landed on the ground and stomped on Antetokounmpo's foot, resulting in an ankle sprain reimbursement. In Game 5, Harden returned, but his form was noticeably poor. In the game of seven, Durant's forced jump shot before the end of regular time counted only two points on the three-point line, and the Nets dragged the game into overtime, but failed to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals in the last minute.
The Nets failed to win the title in the first season of the big three, and Harden believes that they mainly lost in injuries and luck, which also makes him look forward to this season, he believes that the Nets lineup this season will stage a "scary moment". But Harden misjudged the impact of Irving's willfulness on the Nets, even though the Nets had already suffered losses last season because of Irving's willfulness. Harden also did not expect that durant, who was in a brave state, would be injured again.
Irving refused to be vaccinated, and according to local regulations in New York, he could not play the Nets home game. In the first half of the season, the Nets banned Irving. As a result, Harden and Durant are heavily loaded, the playing time remains high, the Nets play a very low winning rate when playing strong teams, and Harden's dissatisfaction emerges.
After that, the Nets compromised to allow Irving to play only away games, playing the Pacers on January 6, 2022, and Irving made his big three season debut. Harden didn't understand some of The Weird Ways Irving burned sage in the locker room before the game, and in the words of someone familiar with the matter, Harden was "angry."
After Irving returned, the Nets had a good day a few days later, Durant was mistakenly injured by a teammate in a game with the Pelicans, resulting in a strained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, and had to make another long truce. In this case, Irving still refused to be vaccinated, and the Nets had a poor record and suffered a wave of 9 consecutive losses.
Durant has missed a lot of games due to injury for two consecutive seasons, Irving is too willful to seem to take the victory and defeat seriously, they have already won the championship, can not be in a hurry, but Harden does not have a championship ring, which is his only pursuit this season. Coupled with rumors that the Nets were worried that Harden's playing style did not match Durant and Irving, finally Harden ran out of patience and decided to leave. At the same time, the Nets worried that Harden refused to renew his contract in the offseason, resulting in the Nets hitting a blank slam, and finally the Nets chose to accept the offer of the 76ers, and the Big Three disintegrated.
Historically, the short-lived Big Three and Big Four are not nothing, but no multi-giant combination has even played less than 20 games in the regular season and playoffs. The Lakers' big three have limited number of injuries this season because of the Zhan Mei combination, but there have been 18 games. In the 2012-13 season, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Steve Nash did not succeed, Nash was plagued by injuries, but the trio also played 42 games.
Simmons into the Nets life-saving straw?
Before the trade deadline, the Nets, who had lost nine consecutive games, were only 8th in the East, 5.5 wins away from the Top Heat in the East and 4.5 wins away from returning to the top 4 in the East. With the team's poor record and the known Harden in Cao Yingxin, the Nets chose to complete the deal with the 76ers, even if they did not get the favorite Sable and Maxi.
Theoretically, with a veteran whose competitive status, declining attendance and offseason face contract renewal, for a 25-year-old mesozoic player who has a contract for 3 years after this season, plus a powerful shooter, a meat shield center, and two first-round picks, the Nets' deal is not a loss. For the Nets, Simmons' addition unlocks more possibilities.
On the offensive end, Irving's refusal to get vaccinated and the local epidemic prevention policy in New York show no signs of change, and then Irving is likely to be unable to play at home. If Simmons returns, when Irving comes out, Irving can return to the familiar Number One position to hold the ball in large number one, and Simmons plays the role of Bruce Brown, more of a cover in the block, by receiving the ball down to instigate the follow-up attack or complete the finish. The 76ers have experimented with this style of play before, and it works well, and for Simmons, who has no outside projection ability, playing a cover in the all-space lineup is also the most suitable role for him. The Nets have Seth Curry, Mills, Durant, Irving, and Simmons has plenty of room to hit the basket.
In home games where Irving can't play, Simmons can carry the ball a lot, after all, he is a tall organizer who has averaged 7.7 assists per game in his career, and has the ability to be an offensive initiator. Playing the Jazz last February, Embiid was absent, simmons played with the shooters, slashing 42 points plus nine rebounds and 12 assists in the all-space lineup.
Defensively, Simmons has been in the All-Defensive Team twice, and he's one of the most defensively well-rounded players in the league, perfect for the Nets' infinite turnover system. ESPN data analytics expert Pelton believes Simmons can bring a huge upgrade to the Nets on the defensive end. The only problem is that Simmons can only use defensive deterrence to the extreme when working with centers with strong basket guarding ability, and the Nets lack such a center.
Purely from the perspective of book strength, Simmons is suitable for the Nets. But the actual battle is not a fantasia game, and the actual battle also has to consider a series of factors such as chemical reactions. Durant missed at least until after the All-Star Game for the rest of the regular season, Irving had only 10 games to play, and the Nets didn't have enough games to cultivate chemistry. Simmons has not played so far this season for so-called psychological reasons, and it is unknown when he will come back, how he will be in shape after his comeback, and how long it will take to find his form. Joe Harris recovered unsatisfactorily after the ankle was knifed and may be reimbursed for a second surgery.
The Nets see Simmons as a lifesaver to turn the tide of the season, but when a team aiming to win a championship brings together two of the season's most controversial stars, no one can see which direction their future will go.