Winners, losers of the James Harden-Ben Simmons trade

It’s not a secret that Embiid and Simmons had their issues with one another. It’s one of the reasons the latter requested a trade from Philadelphia following his ugly performance in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks last season. As for Embiid, he’s talked openly about the relationship.

“Honestly, I’m disappointed. In the regular season, we’ve been so good and so dominant that we know it’s working. It’s about taking the next step and everyone playing up to their potential. To (be) able to win is hard.”

This came with Simmons remaining away from Philadelphia during training camp and the preseason as a way to force his way out of Philadelphia. More than this drama as a backdrop, Embiid also gets a much better running partner moving forward after putting up an MVP-caliber season thus far.

• James Harden stats (2021-22): 22.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 10.2 APG, 41% shooting, 33% three-point
• Ben Simmons stats (2020-21): 14.3 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 6.9 APG, 56% shooting

As you can see, Harden is a more capable scorer than his counterpart. Sure, he’s struggled more this season than in the past, but a change of scenery should light a fire under the former NBA MVP.

Loser: Era of NBA super-teams

When Brooklyn acquired Harden early during the 2020-21 season, the idea was to build another super-team with three future Hall of Famers in Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving teaming up together while they were still in their primes.

It was a disaster of epic proportions in the Big Apple. From Irving’s standoffish ways and vaccination stance to Durant’s continued injuries and Harden’s questionable play, this thing came crashing down like an avalanche. And no, adding a limited Simmons to the mix with Irving and Durant does not make the Nets a super-team.

In reality, the last iteration of a so-called super-team around the NBA was the Durant-led Warriors that won two consecutive NBA titles in in 2017 and 2018. The Lakers attempted to build that by acquiring Russell Westbrook to team up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis ahead of the 2021-22 season. That, too, has proven to be an epic failure.

Winner: Kevin Durant gets a better fit in Ben Simmons

This is an underrated backdrop to the blockbuster swap. When healthy, the Nets don’t have an issue scoring. They are averaging nearly 111 points a game despite KD being sidelined. However, the team ranks 20th in points allowed and boasts the 19th-best defensive rating in the Association.

For all of his faults, Simmons is one of the elite all-around defenders in the entire NBA. He can guard all five positions and was a finalist for NBA Defensive Player of the Year a season ago. All said, the former No. 1 pick is a two-time All-NBA Defensive Team performer.

Almost as important for Durant and the Nets, they added a capable long-range shooter in Curry to help pick up the scoring slack that came with Harden’s departure.

• Seth Curry stats (2021-22): 15.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 4.0 APG, 49% shooting, 40% three-point

As long as Irving finds a way to get vaccinated or New York City changes its COVID-19 mandates, these Nets are still going to find themselves as top-end title contenders. They added elite defense in Simmons and one of the better long-range shooters in the NBA for a watered-down iteration of Harden.

Loser: Philadelphia 76ers salary cap, James Harden next contract

Harden, 32, had a player option worth $47.37 million for next season prior to the deal. He’s agreed to pick up said option following the trade. Given his downtick in production this season and seemingly advanced age, Harden’s next contract could end up being an albatross for the 76ers.

At this point, he’d be looking at a total of $270 million over the next five seasons — starting in 2022-23. Two-hundred and seventy million! That’s absolutely insane given that Harden will be well past his prime about midway through an extension.

Philadelphia is going all in right now. It owes that to Embiid, but the team’s relevance long term could be impacted.