It’s been a long time coming but the conscious uncoupling of Ben Simmons and Philadelphia has ended with plenty of bad blood.
Ben Simmons is finally out of Philadelphia in a move that is good for both Simmons and the 76ers but his now former city couldn’t help but get one more boot in.
Four years and 309 games in Philadelphia, The Process involving the Aussie is over as the 76ers traded for James Harden in a bid to end nearly 40 years in the wilderness.
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The deal sees Harden go for Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks.
While the Simmons and Joel Embiid partnership showed signed of melding at times, it never truly clicked.
But while Embiid is an MVP candidate and Simmons a defensive player of the year candidate and elite passer, they never seemed to be what the other needed.
Simmons elite defence and vision meant he got the benefit of the doubt from fans most of the time when it came to his three-point shooting.
After sitting out the entire season and now exiting the city that blamed him for a game 7 flame out last year, there is no doubt left, Philly is happy to see the back of the Aussie.
While the reaction was swift, including Embiid’s savage “I stopped by one of my biggest hater’s funeral today just to make sure they were dead” meme post, NBC Philadelphia has delivered a brutal sledge of their own.
The brutal “lol” on his three point stats is because he shoots at 13.8 per cent from outside the arc, with five three pointers from 36 shots in his 309 games.
Harden’s stats are the worst for his career but Harden has been unhappy in Brooklyn as Kevin Durant was injured and Kyrie Irving was not allowed to play due to the vaccine mandate in New York.
While the post was called “extremely unprofessional” and “childish” other comments made it clear that Philly fans were glad to finally see the back of Simmons.
As for Simmons, fellow Aussie and now Nets teammate Patty Mills is happy to have him in Brooklyn.
“He’s in a really good place right now,” Mills told media today. “Speaking to him a fair bit lately, seeing what he’s been up to in terms of staying ready and getting his body right and getting game ready I guess.
“So it was good and pleasing to me to see and feel where he’s at. From that standpoint you’re getting a really hungry person who is looking forward to playing basketball again and especially with our group.
“(He’s a) tenacious defender. He’s physical, strong – hangs his hat on that side of the floor I think. And then his freakish ability to be able to be a point guard and make plays. Unbelievable passer, and (can) push the pace.
“He’s someone that, from a basketball standpoint, I’m very excited to play with and I have been for a long time … We’re very getting a very talented, exciting basketball player.”
US reacts to monster trade
But the news wasn’t received too well by some as ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith said the Nets won big as the 32-year-old Harden wanted out.
“This could potentially go down as the worst day in the career of (76ers general manager) Daryl Morey. You gave up a shooter in Seth Curry, the bottom line is he’s one of the premier shooters in the game. He’s gone,” Smith told NBA today.
“You gave up two first-round picks. How do you go from asking for first-round picks to giving up two of them? That makes no sense to me whatsoever.
“When you think about Ben Simmons and how he compliments KD (Durant) and Kyrie, what he brings to the table in terms of his playmaking ability, ball-handling skills, basketball IQ, and most importantly, defensive prowess.
“There’s no question, along with Ande Drummond, a big body Brooklyn desperately needed because we know they’re a bit thin on their front line.
“You take all these things into consideration, I don’t think there’s any doubt that Brooklyn benefits from this trade.”
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons said the situation worked perfectly for Simmons the long drawn out saga.
“This is the best thing possible for Ben Simmons though. It’s just so funny that it worked out for him, when he handled it horribly since last June,” Bill Simmons said.
“We’re going to find out once and for all if Ben Simmons likes playing basketball. I know that’s a harsh thing to say but I stand by it. We saw in LSU he barely wanted to finish that season. We’ve seen some pretty bizarre behaviour with the Sixers and somebody who’s willing to throw away a year of his career as he was entering his prime when he was still trying to get better as a basketball player. And set $20 million on fire that he’s not getting back.
“And now he’s in a really good situation. He gets to play with Durant, who if he’s healthy, the road still goes throw him. It’s either him or Giannis, it’s 1A and 1B and we could argue about that until the cows come home.”
On NBA on TNT, Shaquille O’Neal said it’s a great place for Simmons because when he doesn’t want to shoot, “throw it to Kyrie to KD”.
And Charles Barkley believed that the Nets now won’t fear anybody going on throughout the rest of the season.
“They’ve just got to hang in there. Because I don’t care who you are, other than the Milwaukee Bucks — because they’ve got the confidence of winning the championship — there’s nobody else if they get healthy that they’re going to fear,” he said.
“If they got a healthy Kyrie, the caveat is the home and away thing… it doesn’t matter where they finish, because if they get healthy, they’re scary for everybody.”