In the end, they didn’t want to wait for the end of this season. James Harden arrives in Philadelphia in the last hours of the day of the trade deadline, finding that Daryl Morey who loved him so much in Houston that he fulfilled his every wish and above all exercising its over $ 47 million player option, in order to secure another season in Pennsylvania and make the Sixers happy. Furthermore, the latter manage to retain two very important assets such as Tyrese Maxey e Matisse Thybulle, reiterating the intention of wanting to bet big immediately. But Philadelphia will also have to deal with a player who is now in decline and who gets tired very easily of the environments in which he happens.
It was worth betting everything on him only to lose it in 2023? However, in my opinion we cannot define a winner and a loser after this exchange, because in the end all this reflects the will of the two franchises to open a new chapter in their history. But if in Philadelphia now the only goal remains to aim at all costs to the ring, will this also be possible in Brooklyn? Let’s try to better analyze how much has changed at the court of Steve Nash.
The trade was necessary for the Brooklyn Nets, that’s why
Seeing James Harden out in the past few weeks had been a clear sign that the trade was around the corner, despite Nash’s continued faux pas, who claimed that both he and the company intended to keep the Beard in the Big Apple. Even Daryl Morey actually he seemed resigned to the idea of Harden ending the season at the Nets. However, it was the latter who, yesterday, reiterated his intention of wanting to leave immediately, a bit like he did last year with the Houston Rockets, also threatening not to want to renew his contract at the end of the season.
So Brooklyn found itself forced to moveforcing Barba to exercise his player-option so that the trade would go through and in my opinion obtaining the maximum possible imaginable, snatching in addition to Ben Simmons also Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and especially, two future choices on the first lap, which seemed truly impossible to take home. But is this really how the issues are resolved, that is, by reinforcing a direct competitor to the east? The answer is that there were no alternatives, because the big three at the end they turned out to be just an illusion. By all this I mean that if you don’t have a well-built and cohesive team, you will never be able to win, even with three superstars on the roster. And these were the old Brooklyn Nets, obsessively addicted to solo Kevin Durant and who, without him, could not produce anything concrete and found themselves in a vortex that still does not know the end word.
So we tried to change something, but always with a well-welded goal: the ring. The leader of the team and the only point of reference is of course always KD, it seems having appreciated the trade conducted by the deductible. Recall that the number 7 last season had managed to drag Brooklyn alone one step away from the conference finals. Without him it is natural that the team suffers a lot and, especially now with the departure of Barba, the former Thunder will have to take on more responsibilities. It will all depend on how the newcomers are they will integrate into Steve Nash’s game and how the team will react. But one thing must be said; self Kyrie Irving should he return to play full time and with the whole roster complete, these Nets in my opinion can have their say and impose themselves. At the playoffs all the work done in the regular season is zeroed out, and therefore anything can happen.
How will the newcomers fit in?
As we said, now things for Brooklyn will change radically, as we no longer have to rely completely on the big three. You will have to build a whole new style of play and insist more on the collective. With Ben Simmons on the roster, the Nets are guaranteed one of the best defenders and assist-men in the league. A separate chapter should be opened on the Australian due to his uniqueness, but his path in recent months has been interrupted thanks to the poor management of his situation by the Sixers management.
Player versatile, aggressive and with incredible athletic and playmaking skills, the Louisiana State product arrives in New York in search of redemption, with the hope of being able to show its incredible basketball potential on the pitch. But what will his conditions be like? Certainly all to be evaluated, considering that he hasn’t set foot on the pitch since last June. Furthermore not knowing how to pull it greatly affects his performance but, if placed in the right context and positioned in a certain way, Ben can go back to having his say.
With him the Nets will find themselves employed very small-ball quintets, but difficult to interpret for the opposing defenses. What if Joe Harris probably ended his season here due to the persistence of the ankle injury suffered in November, Brooklyn immediately came to the rescue with Seth Currywhich in recent years has shown significant improvements, becoming one of the the league’s most reliable shooters and ensuring a minimum of ball-handling.
Also having a player like Andre Drummond which, albeit in constant descent, always remains one of the best rebounders in the NBA and is very skilled in painting, ensuring stability and concreteness under the basket. Is all this enough? Most likely not. The Nets would need it a long perimeterless cumbersome ed able to carry the ball and to know how to move also in other areas of the field. The most popular name was that of Myles Turner, which ultimately remained with the Pacers. But beyond that, I’m really curious to see Durant and Simmons play together, two very different players who can compensate for each other. Moreover, if, as it seems, the restrictions in the state of New York are eased, with the return of Irving everything will become more interesting. Brooklyn remains one of the favorites for the title despite the loss of Harden, but in my opinion at the moment the Philadelphia 76ers can give something more than them. March 10 will be there the first clash between the two transformed franchises and we are sure that the show will not fail.
