Brooklyn Nets to Trade James Harden in Blockbuster Deal

James Harden is on the move ahead of the NBA trade deadline. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (per CBS Sports), the Brooklyn Nets are trading Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks. The 76ers also acquired Paul Millsap in the deal. 

It's reported that the Nets will receive the Sixers' 2022 first-round pick unprotected with a right to defer until 2023 and a 2027 first-round pick protected from draft slots 1-to-8. The 2027 pick would roll over to a 2028 projected Nos. 1-to-8 again and turns into two second-round picks and $2 million, ESPN says.

Harden was originally acquired by the Nets in January 2021 to team up with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. But the team has lost its last nine games, Durant is dealing with a knee injury and Irving has limited availability due to him being unvaccinated. Harden reportedly wanted to be traded to the Sixers. 

Harden, 32, was drafted No. 3 overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2009. He was there for three seasons before being traded to the Houston Rockets in 2012. In his nine years in Houston, Harden was selected to be an All-Star nine-times and won the MVP award in 2018. He has led the NBA in scoring three times and is a member of the NBA 75th All-Time Team. 

"Houston will always hold a special place in my heart," Harden told Sports Illustrated in August last year. "I spent the last nine years there. On the court, it was what it was. I was disappointed in myself that I couldn't bring a championship there because that's what I put the jersey on for every single game. But the community work really lets me see the impact I can have on the city. We've been through some tough times with [Hurricane Harvey] and all types of things. And just being able to come back now and be there for people and support them, I'm going to do that as long as I can."

Simmons, 25, is one of the top players in the NBA, winning Rookie of the Year in 2018 and has made the All-Star team three times. He has not played in one game this season and wanted to be traded after being criticized for last season's playoff loss by Joel Embiid and Doc Rivers. "I don't know any of that," Rivers told reporters about Simmons returning to the court, per Sixers Wire. "That's the stuff that I've intentionally stayed out of. I have enough on my plate. I don't feel like I've needed to add that."