On February 11, Beijing time, the NBA League has made a number of trades in the past night, including many big deals between the 76ers and the Nets in a 5-for-2 deal, with Ben Simmons and James Harden swapping owners. In the big deal, the 76ers sent Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, a 2022 first round (no protection, the Nets have the right to change to 2023), a 2027 protected first round, with Harden and Paul Millsap. Many fans are curious, did the 76ers make money or lose money in this big deal?
It's clear that both teams have an urgent need to make a deal, Simmons' farce with the 76ers has lasted for more than half a season, the two sides can finally part ways, and Harden's recent cooperation with the Nets has had problems, and he also wants to leave this team that has had a bad record and many problems recently. For the 76ers, Simmons has refused to play for the team so far this season, and they exchanged Curry Jr. + Drummond + two first-round draft picks for Harden, which is an improvement for the team's paper strength, but they still have three hidden dangers after making this deal.
First of all, whether Harden can play a stable and outstanding performance after coming to the new team is what many fans are concerned about. As part of the deal, Harden executed the $47.3 million player option next season, wearing the Number 1 jersey. Harden played in 80 games with the Nets, averaging 23.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 10.5 assists per game. However, Harden has been a bit unhappy with the Nets recently, and from time to time there have been crotch-pulling performances, and we don't know if he is affecting the state because the Nets are too worried about the situation, or whether he himself has a significant decline. If Harden can play the same performance as he did last season or even the MVP season, he can obviously help the 76ers reach a higher level.
Secondly, as a top "pie feeding master", Harden likes to play blocking and demolition, but although Embiid is extremely threatening and impactful on the offensive end, he has rarely attacked the basket through blocking and dismantling in the past when he is paired with Simmons, and is more accustomed to blocking and dismantling. Not only that, but Embiid is highly skilled and has excellent back-playing skills, and he is also keen to single or strategize with the ball. After Harden arrived, Embiid also needed to re-adapt to the new partner, the two needed to have more connections and cooperation, if most of the rounds are just you single one I single one, then the promotion of the team is more limited.
In addition, the 76ers traded two rotating players, Curry Jr.'s time can be shared by Harden and Kolkmaz and others, and Drummond as Embiid's interior substitute is actually quite important, after all, the traded Millsap's performance in the Nets is very average, and the decline in competitive status is visible to the naked eye. In addition to using more small-ball lineups, the 76ers can also hope to pick up leaks in the buyout market and make up for the interior positions.
All in all, all three of these factors could be potential pitfalls on the 76ers' path to the title, embiid and Harden will both face a new test, and if they can get a good run, Philadelphia has a chance to compete with the Bucks and even rush out of the East in the playoffs.