By Joey Askin ‘24 This year’s NBA trade deadline saw fireworks in the last hour in the form of a rare trade between two playoff teams as Brooklyn Nets superstar James Harden and Paul Milsap were traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks. The trade is beneficial to each team; both Harden and Simmons seemed to be unhappy where they were originally playing.
Simmons has refused to play any games since last year’s playoff loss to the Atlanta Hawks because he was frustrated with the 76ers organization as well as the Philadelphia fans. Now that Simmons has been traded, the three-time all-star plans on making his long-awaited season debut as a Brooklyn Net. “Even though Ben Simmons has struggled to find success shooting the ball, he can still find ways to help his team with his unique size and abilities,” said sophomore Avi Tobin. “At 6 feet 11 inches with his great vision, ball-handling, and perimeter defense, Simmons is still a factor other teams need to watch out for.” In addition to the remarkable defender Brooklyn is acquiring in Simmons, they also gain three-point sharp shooter Seth Curry who has shot over 44 percent from three over his career. Seth Curry, brother of well known superstar Steph Curry, is a valuable and underappreciated player. With his tremendous shooting, opposing teams will have to guard him closer creating more space for his teammates to score. Brooklyn also is improving its depth by gaining veteran center Andre Drummond who has led the league in rebounding four different seasons. On the other side of the trade, Philadelphia is perfectly fine with giving up assets for two solid pieces in James Harden and Paul Milsap. Though Milsap is nowhere near the player he once was as his career seems to be coming to a close in his 16th season, he is still a four-time all-star. The addition of Milsap can bring a veteran mentality and solid minutes off the bench for a team like the 76ers looking to make a deep playoff run. For Philadelphia, James Harden is playing great basketball averaging nearly a triple-double with over 22 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds for the first half of the season. Sophomore Ari Komorvski said, “James Harden is one of the most talented scorers of our generation. He seems to have an infinite amount of moves to combat any defender standing in his way.” However, the 76ers will be the former scoring champion and ten-time all-star’s third team in less than two seasons. “It is clear that James Harden no longer cares about the money and only cares about winning a championship,” said sophomore Doron Finkel. “Harden will bring a unique skill set to the 76ers and should be able to find success joining new teammate and MVP candidate Joel Embiid.” Harden is aging, and at 32 years old he may be running out of time if he is going to win a championship. Harden can put up great stats but will need to stay healthy for a long awaited deep playoff run. Comments are closed.
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EditorsArielle Karni Archives
December 2024
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