The Nets' trade with the 76ers has once again changed the landscape of the league. With this deal, the Nets once again became the team with the highest probability of winning the championship in the league, while the 76ers also got a large-scale reinforcement, using Harden to replace Curry Jr., forming the strongest duo in the league, officially joining the ranks of the championship team. As early as last season, when Harden broke up with the Rockets, the 76ers vigorously pursued Harden, and now it is also a wish, so that the 76ers regard Harden as a treasure, from the completion of the transaction so far, the 76ers' various moves can be seen that Harden's status in the 76ers is much higher than in the Nets.
According to famous journalists, in order to maximize Harden's ability, the 76ers hope to replace head coach Rivers with D'Antoni, and this idea is also supported by Harden. The new official took office three fires, and the 76ers were determined to build a team around Harden this time, but this decision was too reckless. D'Antoni does have a superiority, but Rivers' ability is also obvious to all, in Simmons' absence, the 76ers can still be ranked third in the East, and Rivers is the most powerful. Not to mention that Rivers has been coaching the 76ers for two years, and if the manager is replaced because of the addition of big stars, then this is bound to cause dissatisfaction among some players and cause locker room problems.
However, it is understandable that the 76ers want to change the coach on the bench. D'Antoni is indeed the player in the world who knows how to maximize Harden's ability. As we all know, D'Antoni is Harden's mentor, and the reason why Harden can become the top five stars in the league is indispensable. After Harden joined the Nets, he was able to win the Best Player in the East for two consecutive months, also because D'Antoni assisted Nash as an assistant coach, and after D'Antoni left the Nets this season, Nash's misuse of Harden caused Harden's poor performance, which also reflected D'Antoni's unique role. D'Antoni's ability is one of the reasons, and second, the 76ers don't trust Rivers enough. Rivers is a mixed-scoring manager, and although he is one of the five current champions, his abilities are often questioned.
While Rivers led the Celtics to championships in 2008 and led a civilian team to a five-star Warriors, he also has three humiliating resumes of being reversed with a 3-1 lead in the series. Last year's upset defeat by the Hawks in the playoffs became the culprit that caused Simmons to refuse to play, and even if Harden is now blessed by misfortune, at least in the offseason, this is still one of the league's most difficult problems. In recent years, Rivers' on-the-spot resilience in the playoffs has repeatedly been shocking, and his control of the locker room is not good enough, last year's playoffs are the best example, in the Clippers and 76ers playoff journey is difficult to convince, can the 76ers really trust harden and Embiid's peak to Rivers?
However, Rivers did do more than he did in the 76ers, under his coaching, Embiid became an MVP-level player, Rivers transformed him into a "big back", Embiid has become one of the most comprehensive offensive insiders in the world. If you ask for Embiid's opinion, I believe embiid will not be willing to change the manager, but now the 76ers are dominated by Harden, embiid also said after Harden joined, he is willing to fight with Harden, and try to cooperate and meet Harden's needs. Embiid is well aware that if Harden can return to peak standards, then they will be the most terrifying duo in the league, and with the 76ers' excellent team chassis, it is not impossible to rush out of the East to win the championship this season.
At the 76ers, Harden received as much as the team's first core, and at this point, the Nets dwarfed the 76ers. The Nets simply treat Harden as a tool man, with Durant and Irving at the center. As everyone knows, Harden is the player who has contributed the most to the Nets in the past two years, durant and Irving have not played as many games as Harden in the two seasons, but despite this, last season was still able to enter the playoffs with the second place in the East, shouldn't you thank Harden? Unfortunately, the Nets didn't appreciate it.
Then again, D'Antoni is not idle at home, he is now the Pelicans' development consultant, if the 76ers intend to ask him to coach, I am afraid it will not be completed in a short period of time, perhaps this year will be Rivers's last chance to prove himself.