The Philadelphia 76ers are carefully put in place heading into the 2024-25 season as the undisputed contender not just in the East, but across the league — a stark reversal from what had unfolded at this point previously, when chaos had engulfed the team from every possible angle.
If you need a refresher, it was the still-fresh blockbuster trade that sent disgruntled All-Star Ben Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets for James Harden, filling a seemingly inevitable situation where the stagnant star was holding the team hostage after holding out for an entire season.
Revisiting tradeBleacher Report gave the 76ers a “C+” grade on the trade, emphasizing that Harden never pushed the franchise beyond the proverbial second-round dash line and ultimately had to force his way out of Philly after a summer-long conflict with team president Daryl Morey.
B/R acknowledged Morey’s smart play in getting Harden to the Clippers in another hostage situation for a deep arsenal of role players and a deep pool of draft picks. However, the omission of the Tyrese Maxey-unlocking deal should carry some weight in light of that paltry valuation.
Simply put, if the 76ers hadn’t been able to trade Simmons for Harden, and then Harden for Nicolas Batum, et al., they wouldn’t have had a breakout season from Maxey, who took advantage of his former partner’s massive void on the back end. Plus, the massive financial wiggle room they got this offseason wouldn’t have existed in the first place.
The current storyline is that Philadelphia did a remarkable job of pivoting from two simultaneous unpleasant situations and avoiding this snowball effect, but in reality, that wouldn’t have been possible without the franchise taking a beating and taking a step backward at some point.
Next. not staying. 5 players who might not last the entire 2024-25 season with the 76ers.
