Just one year after acquiring former NBA MVP James Harden in a trade, the struggling Brooklyn Nets are trading the reportedly disgruntled star to the Philadelphia 76ers for another discontented guard, former All-Star Ben Simmons.
The trade, first reported by ESPN, will see Harden and veteran forward Paul Millsap going to the Sixers in exchange for Simmons, center Andre Drummond, Seth Curry, and two future first-round picks.
The trade ends months of speculation about Simmons, who still has another three years and $113.6 million remaining on his contract after this season. The Australian-born star previously requested a trade from Philadelphia, where he’d grown unhappy and had refused to play this season, citing mental health concerns.
The ESPN report came approximately 90 minutes before the NBA’s trade deadline at 3pm ET. A Brooklyn Nets spokesperson did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for confirmation.
Although Nets head coach Steve Nash earlier denied reports earlier that Harden could be traded, the star guard has become increasingly disgruntled in Brooklyn. Harden will be a free agent after the 2021-22 season.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported earlier Thursday that, although Harden did not formally request a trade to Philadelphia, he was hoping that a deal could be made.
The Nets were expected to compete for the NBA title behind Harden and fellow stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. But Durant is injured and Irving is a part-time player because of his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The Nets have dropped nine straight games to fall to eighth place and the play-in position in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
Simmons, meanwhile, has not played this season and has asked to be traded. The Simmons camp reportedly cited mental health issues and an inability to mesh on the court with teammate Joel Embiid as reasons for wanting to leave.
Just one year after acquiring former NBA MVP James Harden (pictured) in a trade, the struggling Brooklyn Nets are trading the reportedly disgruntled star to the Philadelphia 76ers for another discontented guard, former All-Star Ben Simmons
Ben Simmons (pictured) has not played this season and has asked to be traded. The Simmons camp reportedly cited mental health issues and an inability to mesh on the court with teammate Joel Embiid as reasons for wanting to leave
Harden, 32, has a hamstring strain and hasn’t played since a loss to the Sacramento Kings on Feb. 2. He played 37 minutes and scored four points on 2-of-11 shooting but had 12 assists and seven rebounds.
On the season, Harden has played in 44 games, averaging 22.5 points and a team-leading 10.2 assists and 8.0 rebounds per game.
Simmons, 25, is a three-time All-Star over his four NBA seasons, scoring 15.9 points with 8.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists in 275 career games, all starts with the 76ers. He was the No. 1 overall draft pick by the Sixers out of LSU in 2016.
This marks the second time that Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has traded for Harden.
In 2012, while with the Houston Rockets, Morey acquired Harden for guards Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks and a second-rounder.
Although Harden never won a title in Houston, he did go on to have the best years of his career, ultimately winning the league’s MVP in 2018.
Morey stepped down in Houston in 2020, and a year later, when the Nets acquired him for a steep price in a three-team trade: Center Jarrett Allen and forward Taurean Prince went to Cleveland, while guard Caris LeVert and forward Rodions Kurucs, as well as three first-round draft picks and four first-round pick swaps went to Houston.
Harden played only 88 games over parts of two seasons with Brooklyn, but still managed to get paid $63.5 million by the Nets over that time, according to Spotrac.
Seth Curry, Stef’s younger brother, is now headed to Brooklyn, along with Ben Simmons