Late Friday afternoon, a news report went live that sent the entire basketball community into a frenzy. With less than a week to go until the trade deadline, the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers have reportedly opened up to the idea of a possible James Harden-for-Ben Simmons swap.
For the second season in a row, this pair of All-Stars are linked in trade rumors. Before Harden was sent to Brooklyn, Daryl Morey was one of the last men standing in the sweepstakes. Now, he once again has an opportunity to reunite with the former MVP.
After countless rumors of a deal of this nature going down in the offseason, it appears things could drastically change before Thursday. Even with all this new information on the matter, chances of the Nets and Sixers swapping stars at the deadline still seems unlikely.
Sixers-Nets James Harden-Ben Simmons Trade
Amid all this hysteria, some tidbits of news have fallen through the cracks. In his report Friday, Shams Charania of The Athletic also stated the Minnesota Timberwolves and Atlanta Hawks are both still interested in acquiring Simmons. This may seem unimportant but is a key factor to watch if the Sixers and Nets do in fact attempt to facilitate a mega-deal.
In the age of the super-max contract, there is a lot of money tied up on most top-end talent in the NBA. These large-scale contracts have made it harder for teams to make trades work from a financial standpoint.
When Harden got dealt from the Houston Rockets to the Nets, multiple organizations walked away with assets in the deal. Multi-team trades have become common in today's era and is a very likely outcome if Philly and Brooklyn strike an agreement before February 10th.
Since the Ben Simmons saga began, Minnesota has been one of the most persistent suitors of the Sixers. The Timberwolves' new management envisions pairing the three-time All-Star with its young core to become a real contender in the Western Conference. Their unwillingness to part with any of their top players has been one of the major roadblocks.
Morey has shown no interest in moving Simmons for complementary pieces, but the Nets may have a different stance. They already have two premiere talents in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but lack of depth has been a glaring issue this season. Dealing Harden away for rotational pieces like Malik Beasley, Taurean Prince and Patrick Beverly could help them fill out their roster.
Brooklyn pushed all their chips in when creating this three-headed monster, and the results have been lackluster. While Simmons fits with the Nets and is an All-Star caliber player, his recent playoff blunders might worry Brooklyn as they attempt to compete for a championship now.
With three days still to go until the deadline, there is no telling what might happen. That being said, outside teams still showing interest is certainly a factor to keep an eye on as time slowly starts to run out.
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