After the trade deadline, the NBA began to stabilize, with teams scrambling to get new, with the exception of the 76ers and nets. As the two protagonists on the trade deadline, even though the deal between them has been settled, the two teams seem to have been holding their breath and trying to give their opponents a downfall. Since the deal was completed, both the 76ers and the Nets have held press conferences, giving Harden and Simmons a chance to shell their old clubs. Subsequently, the Nets relied on the excellent performance of the newcomer to end the 11-game losing streak and hype, harden could not respond in time due to injury.
There was no way to respond on the court, but off the court, Harden responded to the Nets with action. According to the Nets reporter, Harden may refuse the player option, and after jumping out of the contract in the offseason, he completed the contract extension with the 76ers with a contract below the maximum salary, helping the team create salary space and leave the possibility of forming the Big Three. Harden took the initiative to cut salaries, for the 76ers, the deal is another windfall, if used properly, the 76ers can form a rather dominant big three team in the future. The decision makes the Nets look more like a loser in the deal, as it means the 76ers paid Seth Curry, Drummond and a premium contract to two All-Star players.
The 76ers have a very healthy salary structure, and they may be one of the best teams in the league to make up the Big Three. If Harden renews his contract with an annual salary of about $30 million, cleans up Harris in the offseason and brings in a third big player, the 76ers will become the most competitive team in the East. Other teams form the Big Three at the expense of roster depth, with the common pattern of three All-Star players + middle-class players + a group of base-paid players, while the 76ers can form three All-Star players + two child labor contract players + middle-class players + a group of base-paid players. In this way, the 76ers' lineup depth and the number of giants can be taken into account, and the advantages over other teams are very obvious, as long as the big three can be compatible, then their dominance will be very terrible.
Maxi and Sable are the two child labor contract players, they have shown a good quality, and Sable's rookie contract is still three years away, Sable's contract extension is not expected to exceed $15 million, and the future framework of the 76ers is already very clear. That's also where the 76ers got smart in the deal talks — they left both Maxi and Sable and got James Harden, which is the perfect place for the deal.
After Harden left the Nets, the Nets reporter also mentioned the inside story of Harden's departure: Harden's hamstring strain is not real, and he can play in the nets' last few games, but Harden lied about the injury and refused to play, and he used "rocket-style" behavior to leave the Nets. That is to say, Harden's old trick is repeated, and the unfair treatment suffered by the Rockets at the beginning, the Nets also feel it - Harden refuses to play under the pretext of injury, thus forcing the team to take the initiative to trade him. In this way, it is easier to understand that the Nets traded Harden in an almost undersold way, Max only had about 5 days to complete the transaction, and the 76ers always took the initiative. However, the Nets were able to exchange Harden for Simmons, making the deal look like the 76ers did make money, but the Nets didn't lose.
Putting aside the malicious evaluation of Simmons by public opinion, objectively speaking, Simmons is an All-Star player who is only 25 years old, and is perfectly adapted to the Nets, referring to Harden's performance this season, Simmons' trading value is not lower than Harden. What's more, the Nets perfectly avoided the risk of Harden's departure, Simmons's contract has 5 years left, in terms of value, Simmons' contract is at best a premium contract. Most importantly, the Nets resolved the embarrassing situation of the dismal offseason free market by getting Simmons, and the Nets will still be able to maintain a certain competitiveness for the next 5 years. If Irving's problems can be solved, then the Big Three, made up of Durant, Irving and Simmons, will be the absolute championship team for at least the next three years, and Durant is a potential winner.
Again, the decision on how the Nets develop in the future is in Irving's hands. Irving didn't put his mind on basketball, and any operation by the Nets made no sense.