Philly really goofed. Harden has been a disaster and CJ McCollum has been awesome. A trade of Simmons for CJ, straight up, would have Philly in much better shape today and tomorrow.
Would be interesting to see that lineup in an alternate universe. I think the nba is moving away from star hunting at some level. Espn had a long article on it. Like you need the superstar to contend, and a very solid number 2, but the concept of just getting three stars for the sake of it is not as in vogue as it was the last few years. The nba has been successful with these super max contracts making it so hard to get solid role players if you have three max contracts like the lakers.
I think the 76ers would be better with Halliburton and hield (and Drummond and curry) this year and the years ahead. Harden is going to age like milk. I’ll be moderately surprised if harden is even in the league at 35 or 36. Showing now signs of slowing down his partying or improving his conditioning.
I think you’re exactly right on teambuilding philosophy, and Brad Stevens represents a shift in that within the Celtics organization. Danny was always sort of looking to preserve caps space for that big signing and flexibility.
Harden already is not the same player, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the 76ers just let him walk at this point. Obviously a lot depends on the playoffs, and he can still turn it on, but we all know James Harden‘s history in the playoffs, so that’s pretty doubtful.
