Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said he wouldn’t move disgruntled guard Ben Simmons for anything less than top dollar.
Well, the former Rockets general manager certainly got that on Thursday just hours before the NBA trade deadline—and he reunited with his last superstar in the process.
The Sixers shipped Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks to Brooklyn for James Harden and Paul Millsap early Thursday afternoon, a bombshell deal that will reverberate across the league.
In fact, it already has.
At Tipico Sportsbook, NBA title futures have already seen massive line movement. Here’s a look at how oddsmakers are processing the blockbuster trade:
Feb. 9 NBA Championship Outrights
Philadelphia 76ers: +1200
Brooklyn Nets: +425
Feb. 10 NBA Championship Outrights
Philadelphia 76ers: +700
Brooklyn Nets: +450
TRADE#76ers Acquire
– James Harden
– Paul Millsap#Nets Acquire
– Ben Simmons
– Seth Curry
– Andre Drummond
– 2 1st Rd PicksRemaining Contract
Harden: $15M + $47M option
Simmons: $11M + 3 yrs, $113M
Curry: $2.7M + $8.5M
Millsap: $895k
Drummond: $814khttps://t.co/WMYo6fuX5S— Spotrac (@spotrac) February 10, 2022
The deal will also impact the MVP candidacy of Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, who is the current favorite at +200. Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant lags behind at +3000, but the trade could free up Durant on offense and defense to improve his chances.
Feb. 10 NBA MVP odds:
Embiid: no change +200
Durant: no change +3000
Harden: moved from +10000 to +6000
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