After months of trade rumors involvingย Ben Simmons, theย Philadelphia 76ersย have officially parted ways with the disgruntled point guard, trading him to theย Brooklyn Netsย in exchange forย James Harden, Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
The Sixers are also sendingย Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round picks to the Sixers.
Ramona Shelburne reportedย Ben Simmons will continue to work with his therapist to be mentally ready to play in Brooklyn. โItโs a work in progress,โ a source close to him told Shelburne, who added that Simmons is โthrilled with the change of sceneryโ and has โalready spoken to Kevin Durant.โ
The move arrives just a day after the deal appeared to be dead in the water, whenย Wojnarowski reportedย that the discussions between the Nets and Sixers were โnowhere.โ
โI try not to be in the prediction business, Greeny, because you follow the news where it leads,โ Wojnarowski said Wednesday on Mike Greenbergโs ESPN show.ย โBut right now thereโs no negotiation going on between Philadelphia and Brooklyn.โ
Meanwhile, NBA insider Brian Windhorst maintained that Harden was pleading with Brooklynโs front office to have him traded to Philly.ย โAs far as I can tell, weโre in deal zone,โ Windhorst said on Greenbergโs show. โI suspect theyโre gonna get it done. Iโm not gonna tell you for sure theyโre gonna get it done. But itโs trending in that direction.โ
Windhorst added that theย 10-time All-Star โis screaming in every way he possibly can, โI donโt want to be here; get me out of here.โโ
Just last week, Wojnarowskiย reportedย that Harden hadย repeatedly reiterated his commitment to Brooklyn, telling the Netsย ownership and managementย that he wants to win a championship with the organization. Even more, he believes that, when healthy, their Big 3 of himself, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving is โunstoppable.โ
โJames Harden has repeatedly told management, ownership, those in the organization that he is committed to being a Net,โ Woj said onย NBA Countdown last week. โHe wants to win a championship there, and more than that, the โBig Threeโ in Brooklyn โ Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving โ say publicly what they also say privately: which is when theyโre together, they believe theyโre unstoppable.โ
Instead, the Harden-Durant-Kyrie experiment in Brooklyn ends with just one playoff appearance, which ended in last yearโs Eastern Conference semifinals with a loss toย Giannis Antetokounmpoโs Milwaukee Bucks. On the flip side, the Sam Hinkie โTrust the Processโ era in Philly is officially over, amounting toย four straight playoff trips that all fell short of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Joel Embiidย posted a meme of Big Fendi outside of his โbiggest hatersโ funeral after the news of the trade went live.
One Philly fan,ย Dillon Schmanek, who has a Simmons tattoo on hisย right arm, expressed his relief at the trade.ย
โI thought it was a good trade,โ Schmanek said, per the Philadelpha Inquirer, addingย โand weโre gonna win the championship now.โ
Schmanek said heโs going to keep the tattoo.ย
โIt doesnโt even matter at this point,โ he added. โItโs fine.โ
He of course wasnโt the only one who reacted online, as the biggest NBA deal in years sent NBA Twitter into a frenzy. Check out some of the more notable reactions below.ย
