After the Nets' three brothers were together for 16 games, they broke up!
You should remember that the Nets beat my home Pacers in the first game after Irving's comeback, and Dengo saw that Irving was in a good mood and joked that maybe he would sneak a shot at Him when Irving didn't pay attention.
No one expected that this sentence stabbed the honeycomb. Ahead of the Jan. 17 game against Irving's former owner, the Cavaliers, Irving lit up sage in the locker room, an Aboriginal ritual he performed to purify negative energy, and he did the same in playoffs last season.
A little gossip, Harden was in the locker room, sitting in front of the locker, watching Irving's actions, like Irving had three heads, and after that game, Irving reiterated one thing: he would not go to the vaccine, and asked reporters to stop dwelling on the issue.
From that moment on, Harden couldn't hold back any longer, and Both Irving and Durant had championship rings on their hands, only themselves, and came to Brooklyn empty-handed.
Against the Kings, who lost seven times in a row, Harden scored just four points, the lowest score in his career to play more than 30 minutes. Harden told reporters after the game: "I've said too many times, our lineup is not in order, things like this have been happening this season. Hopefully, after All-Star Weekend, we can play in full force. After saying this, the Nets lost three more games in a row, and they lost nine times in a row, falling from the first place in the East last Christmas to the eighth place in the East.
Last month, BR reporter Jake Fischer reported that Harden didn't enjoy life in Brooklyn and was confused about Kyrie Irving playing part-time.
He was disappointed by Nash's fluid rotational lineup, preferring to play in a fixed lineup. According to multiple sources, Harden is open to partnering embiid.
Just two days before the trade deadline, Woj and Shams have been roasting Harden and the Nets on the fire. Messages come and go. WOJ also broke the news last night: "Harden wants to be traded to Philadelphia, but he has always resisted making a formal trade application to the team because he is afraid of public criticism that he has voluntarily applied for a trade with the parent team for two consecutive years." ”
The Nets looked at the team's free fall record and decided to break the moment. Two hours before the trade deadline, they finally struck a final deal with Philadelphia: The 76ers sent Seth Curry, Drummond, Ben Simmons and two protected first-round picks. The two first-round picks are the 2022 first-round picks (unprotected, but the Nets have the right to change this first-round pick to 2023), and the 2027 protected first-round picks, which are protected for two consecutive years with 1-8 picks, which translate into two second-round picks and $2 million in cash if still protected in 2029; Philadelphia gets Harden and Millsap.
In my opinion, this deal is obviously a deal that the Nets were forced to make under the pressure of the situation, and it is also an absolutely weak side in the transaction. They've always wanted to get Philadelphia's outstanding young players, Sable and Maxi, but Philadelphia bites to death. The 76ers' wishful thinking is loud: You don't sell Harden now, do you have to wait until the playoffs are out? When the time comes to sign the deal, I will only give you less chips.
In desperation, the passive Nets can only make this decision. The locker room contradictions within the team are already obvious: Durant seems to be on Irving's side, and just yesterday, he praised an ins status of The score, which was rumored that Harden actively wanted to change the team. Today in the all-star selection link, LeBron also deliberately did not choose Harden, And Durant did not choose, until the end Durant chose Harden.
James also jokingly asked: "Harden has not played lately, is he healthy?" Will he play? What happens if he can't play? Durant just covered his face and smiled.
The Clippers and team reporter Farbod Esnaashari I saw here broke the news, after all, people know more in the front: Harden and Durant have huge differences in many aspects, especially the team's cultural concept, which cannot be reconciled. The Nets actually have no choice but to accept worse chips in the summer, rather than accommodate durant, the team's higher-ranking star, and take over Philadelphia's low chips. According to fox sports articles, in fact, as early as February, the Nets were talking about a Harden trade with the 76ers, and Harden had always wanted him to dominate the team's offense, not Durant.
Then we'll share a few more sets of stats: After the trade was made, the Nets' odds for winning the championship dropped from 400 to 1 to 425. Last season, even though harden-Durant Irving's Big Three played only eight regular season games together, the team played the highest offensive efficiency in NBA history and at one point led the final defending champion Bucks 2-0 in the playoffs. They should have been the strongest contenders for the championship this season, but the Nets' problems this season have followed, with Irving only playing on the road, the team's top scorer Joe Harris only playing 14 games and looking to be reimbursed for the season, and the team's three-point shooting rate dropped from 39.2 percent in the league last season to 35.2 percent in the league fifteenth this season.
Simmons hasn't played a minute this season and his form is unknown. But last season, he had the second-highest number of votes among the best defensive players, and he was still a big lock that pushed the offensive and defensive ends, and Morey kept him from selling, raising his value in disguise. When he comes to the Nets, he doesn't have to worry about shooting, with Durant and Irving, he may just need to complete the work of holding the ball to play counter-attack.
Seth Curry is the perfect replacement for Joe Harris. His average of points per game this season has hit a career high (15 points), but his three-point shooting percentage has dropped from 45 percent in the past three seasons to 40 percent, which is also related to the increase in his possession of the ball, coming to the Nets, and at Durant's side, he has an empty position opportunity. When he comes to the Nets, Mills can also return to the bench, and his annual salary next year will only be 8.55 million. In terms of playing style, Curry is 100% adapted to the Nets.
Harden's shots from within 8 feet of the basket this season have seen a 7 percent drop from last season and a 5 percent lower assist rate than last season because of the Nets' deformed roster, and his breakthroughs are often sandwiched between two or three men. Coming to Philadelphia, we know if it's a problem with the Nets' roster or whether Harden is really slipping. But from either angle, Harden is a much better player than Simmons, who can't play and has the lowest free throw shooting percentage in NBA history.
His style of play that likes to block and dismantle may not be very compatible with Embiid, but these two are superstars who are good at singles, even if they are disassembled one-on-one, they can attract the bag clip, and the problem of the two running in may be far smaller than we think. In this deal, Philadelphia also did not send Sable and Maxi, two treasure youngsters, and the team's combat strength has been significantly improved.
In this deal, the Nets had a hard time riding the tiger, and Philadelphia won a big victory. This season, the Nets' big three have only played together for 32 minutes, so stubborn, Harden is not as good as the fish dead net, at his age, personal honor has long been collected, and all that is left is the championship. It just so happened that Embiid and his mind were the same. Harden and Simmons, there is a good chance that they will meet directly in the playoffs.
Then we may know who the real winner of this deal is.