It has been about five weeks since Sean Marks and the Brooklyn Nets sent shockwaves around the NBA by trading away James Harden, just 13 months after ponying up to get him. The story dominated headlines and the entire saga came to a boil on March 10 when the Nets visited the Sixers, winning in convincing fashion. We know it's too early to say anything definitively, but Nets fans should be feeling pretty good about this trade right now. We have to imagine Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are as well.
Why Nets fans should be happy with Ben Simmons-James Harden trade so far
3) For James Harden, the struggle is apparently real
When ESPN's Brian Windhorst alluded to the fact that James Harden quit (Windy actually said “the q word”) on the Nets, the basketball world wondered if The Beard ever really did have a hamstring issue. KD had to struggle not to smile when he was selecting his team for the All-Star Game on TNT. The joke was that Harden's hammy would magically heal as soon as he got to Philly. However, he did miss his new team's first four games and one back-to-back with the issue.
But the rumors that he exaggerated the issue cropped back up when Harden came out on fire for his first four games as a Sixer. But he has really come back to earth over his last four.
The Nets held him to 3-of-17 shooting, when Kyrie Irving had his former teammate in jail. Harden has now shot just 19 of his last 62 field attempts from the floor. He's just 8-of-27 from distance over the same four-game sample.
We don't know if the hammy is still bugging him, but we do know that many of the inconsistencies he displayed, many of the head-scratching games he had in a Nets uniform, have now begun to plague him in Philly also.
It has now been nearly a year since he first sustained a hamstring injury in Brooklyn. He hasn't looked close to his pre-injury form much this season at all.
The idea of a disgruntled and disengaged Harden hoping for a trade wouldn't have been ideal had they not swung this trade. But paying the $270 million sum he might command this summer is downright scary. It seems there's a very good chance Joe Tsai and Sean Marks wouldn't have wanted to meet his price and turned to the sign-and-trade market anyway. Then they'd be very lucky to have got back as much as they did, plus whatever opportunities they'll have this spring. Let the Sixers now worry about how Harden will age on a contract that figures to pay him over $50 million annually, four or five years from now.
2) The other stuff the Nets got in the deal doesn't look “ancillary”
Another reason we're digging this trade for the Nets is the other stuff they got looks even better today. Seth Curry is nursing an ankle issue that cost him Sunday's matinee vs. Knicks, but Steph's younger brother and Irving's former Duke teammate is not just another guy. He has been an absolute sniper so far.
Curry is shooting over 45 percent from distance on 7.6 3-point attempts per 36 minutes. He has fit in as well as anyone could have hoped, a seamless fit with his pure touch. Just when Patty Mills hit a slump because of some fatigue, Curry got to step in and drain shots, ensuring (burn sage) that both he and Mills can stay a bit more fresh for the stretch run.
Andre Drummond has been more than a pleasant surprise as well. The former All-Star has played some spirited basketball in black-and-white. He has two double-doubles in his last three outings. He has an 18-and-10 game, a 20-and-14 game, and a 7-point, 7-rebound, 3-block game vs. Joel Embiid and the Sixers.
And, by the way, as of today the team has rights to the Sixers' 2022 pick, slated for No. 23 before Tuesday's slate of games, per Tankathon.
Chances are they'll defer this pick and hope for more calamity to hit the Sixers next season. But on draft day, they figure to have a decent trade offer if they like. They can include a combination of the Sixers' 2022 and 2027 picks, as well as Joe Harris (depending on his prognosis following surgery) and try to bolster the unit.
1) When healthy and available, the Nets look about as good as anyone in the East, and Ben Simmons hasn't even played yet
The “when healthy and available” is obviously a massive caveat. If the Nets could have that, they might well be looking to win their second championship in a row right now.
But Kyrie Irving recently reminded the Milwaukee Bucks who was missing from the bulk of that second-round series last season when he dropped 38 in a road win. He dropped 50 points on just 19 shots vs. the Hornets. Then KD put up 53 on the Knicks. Then there's that Sixers game where they sent a statement to the entire East.
When those two are in the lineup, you're not safe. Not Giannis, not Jimmy Butler, not Jayson Tatum, not Joel Embiid or James Harden.
If Irving becomes available on a full-time basis at some point, that makes this team instant title contenders. Then you add in Ben Simmons? Things start to get scary. Sorry, we know that's a trigger word around these parts.
It may be tricky to argue this trade looks good when Simmons hasn't yet even practiced with his new team and has no timetable to return. But it helps that Nash thinks he'll be back for the regular season. If he can shake this back thing and play the type of ball he's capable of playing, he raises the ceiling for this unit substantially.
Simmons is still just 25, and he's under contract for the next three seasons with no player option. That makes him the longest-tenured Net other than Kevin Durant. They'll get the chance to see how Ben-10 fits this season, plus have the summer to decide if they want to keep him. They'll also have the opportunity to shop him the same way Philadelphia would have this summer if someone like Bradley Beal or Damian Lillard were suddenly available.
But taking everything into account, the controversial blockbuster trade the Nets swung is looking pretty good right now. Marks has already taken some heat, and people have already lobbied criticism saying he sparked a rivalry by helping the Sixers. But if the current trend continues, public sentiment might start to shift the other way.
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