The Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers pulled off the biggest blockbuster deal of the NBA trade deadline by moving James Harden and Ben Simmons to new destinations.
There was a lot of excitement surrounding the Nets when they pulled off the trade with the Houston Rockets to land Harden—forming a “Big 3” alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. It was going to be the most high-powered offensive juggernaut perhaps in league history.
Fast forward to today, Harden is a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, the team he claims he originally wanted to be moved to when he requested to be traded out of Houston. Between Kyrie Irving not being fully available and Durant’s injury, a hefty burden was placed on Harden that he did not sign up to shoulder.
According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, while Kevin Durant did not want the Nets to trade his superstar teammate James Harden, he knew the situation was ‘over.’
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: James Harden States Sixers Were ‘First Choice’ For Rockets Trade
“KD didn’t want to get rid of James,” one person familiar with the two superstars said. “But he knew it was over.”
“Kevin was like: ‘F–k it. James isn’t bringing s–t,” another figure with knowledge of Brooklyn added. “I don’t think that would have happened without Kevin making that decision.”
Fischer went as far to say that Durant was the ‘one that pulled the trigger’ on the deal itself. Brooklyn was growing concerned that Harden could have departed to the Philadelphia 76ers in the offseason—leaving the Nets with ‘nothing’ in return.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: James Harden States Sixers Were ‘First Choice’ For Rockets Trade
“Kevin’s the one that pulled the trigger with this,” another source with knowledge of the situation said. “Kevin’s the one that said, ‘Do this deal.’ There was growing concern that this entire season would be lost and then they’d lose James for nothing.”
The Brooklyn Nets recently snapped their 11-game losing streak as Ben Simmons and Kevin Durant both are ramping up to make their returns to the lineup sometime after the NBA All-Star Break. Simmons needs to recover his conditioning before getting back into game action.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: James Harden States Sixers Were ‘First Choice’ For Rockets Trade
James Harden will be making his Philadelphia 76ers debut also after the NBA All-Star Break. He is recovering from a hamstring injury that will keep him sidelined for the team’s last few games.
It will be fascinating to see if either the Philadelphia 76ers or Brooklyn Nets manage to be the team that hoists the Larry O’Brien trophy this season. James Harden and Ben Simmons will play integral roles in whether that ends up being the case or not for their new team.
