Sixers: Grading the James Harden, Ben Simmons trade

Grading the Nets’ trade for former Sixers guard Ben Simmons

The Nets were well compensated for James Harden’s departure. Ben Simmons, who has made three All-Star appearances and finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, is still 25 years old. Seth Curry is one of the best shooters in basketball, and Andre Drummond is one of the NBA’s best backup centers.

Brooklyn is trying to win a championship this season, and this trade does not remove them from the conversation. In fact, they’re still the odds-on favorites to win it all in Vegas. That speaks first and foremost to Kevin Durant’s talent, but also to the hand-in-glove fit here. If he can return to form, Simmons should thrive in Brooklyn.

The biggest advantage Brooklyn has in any matchup is versatility. That’s the case even more so with Simmons, who can switch across five positions defensively. The Nets are already a switch-heavy team, and Simmons figures to spend a lot of time as the small-ball five, surrounded by the likes of Kevin Durant, Joe Harris, Seth Curry, Patty Mills, and Kyrie Irving on offense. Holy moly!

Unlike Philadelphia, the Nets are equipped to hide some of Simmons’ more prominent flaws in crunch time. Durant and Irving are more than capable of shouldering the load offensively, while the Nets’ wide array of shooters will mean Simmons’ rim-centric game is less of an obtrusion on the offense. He can focus his effort on playing defense and pushing the tempo, and it will have a major impact on winning for this Nets team.

Seth Curry is a top-100 NBA player and, whether as a starter or sixth man, he’s going to thrive in Brooklyn’s loose, up-tempo offense. You can’t double off of him, and the Nets still have a handful of players who demand double teams. Curry’s movement and improved passing chops should make him a fast favorite of Steve Nash. Drummond, meanwhile, should see plenty of minutes as Brooklyn’s best center now.

Obviously, the Nets would have preferred to continue with James Harden long term. This trade was born out of unideal circumstances. That said, for such a rotten bit of luck, this trade makes Brooklyn look quite good. The Nets got deeper and more balanced, while ridding themselves of a potential locker room problem in Harden. It’s hard not to consider it a win, even if the Nets are (against their will) giving up the best player.

Final grade: B+