James Harden got traded to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday rather than the Philadelphia 76ers, and apparently Ben Simmons is happy about that.
The 76ers and Nets were said to be the two teams in the mix to acquire Harden. Simmons was one of the players who likely would have been included in the deal.
After learning he would remain in Philly, Simmons was “ecstatic,” according to ESPN’s Marc J. Spears.
Hearing Ben Simmons was pretty ecstatic to not be traded from the Sixers to Houston for James Harden and believes his team is capable of bringing a title to Philadelphia. Doc Rivers is also a huge fan of Simmons and believes the best is yet to come with two-time NBA All-Star.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) January 13, 2021
Simmons is playing in his fourth season with Philly (not counting his first year he missed due to injury) and has emerged as an All-Star the last two seasons. The team has a nice core including him, Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and some newcomers like Seth Curry, Shake Milton and Tyrese Maxey. They also have a new coach in Doc Rivers and GM in Daryl Morey. Simmons has said they can be a “scary” team.
The Sixers have a lot to look forward to, so it’s understandable why Simmons didn’t want to have that disrupted. And here is what the Rockets reportedly wanted in a trade for Harden.
