James Harden to 76ers, Ben Simmons to Nets in blockbuster NBA trade deadline deal

The Philadelphia 76ers have traded Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond and two first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for James Harden and Paul Millsap, two people with knowledge of the trade told USA TODAY Sports.

The person requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly until the trade is official.

This ends a spectacle that has hampered both teams: Simmons has not played a game for Philadelphia this season as a result of the fallout from his performance in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals against Atlanta and the subsequent blame placed on him.

It also ends a disappointing attempt by Brooklyn to create a super team with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Harden. The three played just 16 games together over the course of 1½ seasons and have nothing to show for it.

Philadelphia president of basketball operations Daryl Morey maintained he wouldn’t trade Simmons unless it yielded a return that can help the Sixers win a championship. That kind of deal wasn’t on the table until the situation with Harden and Brooklyn soured.

With Harden arriving, Morey, who was in charge of the Houston Rockets when Harden developed into an MVP, has what could be an outstanding 1-2 combo: Harden and Joel Embiid.

Embiid is having a career-year and is an MVP candidate, averaging 29.4 points, 10.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.4 blocks and one steal while shooting 49.8% from the field, 35.8% on 3-pointers and 81.2% on foul shots.

The Sixers lose depth and shooting in the deal, but they also desperately needed an All-Star caliber player to compensate for Simmons’ unavailability.

Brooklyn gets Simmons, who is 25 and a three-time All-Star. He heads to the Nets with questions to answer. While Simmons is a great defender, playmaker and passer, especially in the open court, he has no reliable outside shot and is coming off a series against Atlanta where he shied from even taking shots near the rim.

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