MIAMI — Who will ultimately win the James Harden and Ben Simmons trade?
There’s a belief around the NBA that Harden will opt out of his $35.6 million player option with the 76ers and head back to the Houston Rockets in free agency. There’s also a belief that the Sixers won’t advance beyond the second round of the upcoming playoffs.
In last season’s big trade deal, the Sixers packaged two first-round picks along with Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Harden and Paul Millsap on Feb. 10, 2022. One of the first-round picks was deferred to this summer’s NBA draft. The other is a 2027 top-8 protected pick.
