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The Nets went all-in on James Harden barely one year ago, trading multiple valuable assets to acquire him from Houston to form a championship-caliber Big 3 alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
The Nets dealt the unhappy Harden to a division rival, the 76ers, ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline in another blockbuster move for three-time All-Star Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round draft picks. One day after the deal, Brooklyn GM Sean Marks acknowledged the determination that it was time to break up his superstar trio.
“Look, we will make no bones about it. We went all-in on getting James Harden and inviting him into the group and these decisions to move on from a player like that of that caliber are never easy ones,” Marks said Friday on a Zoom call. “I just want to be clear that this is not something that you think, ‘great, let’s just make a split decision and move on from that.’
“I give James a lot of credit for having open dialogue, open discussions with me and with the group, Steve [Nash] and [owner] Joe Tsai and everybody, over the last, 24-48 hours.”
Marks added that the deal came together quickly this week after Harden expressed his displeasure to the front office. With Durant sidelined with a knee injury and Irving only available as a part-time player due to his unvaccinated status, the Nets are mired in a 10-game losing streak and tumbling down the Eastern Conference standings entering Saturday’s game in Miami.
“Again, I say they’re not easy [decisions], but I think that’s something we pride ourselves on is being open and honest. And James was honest with us and we were honest with him and I think it’s a move that enables him to have a fresh start and enables this team to have a fresh start without trying to push things to make things work,” Marks said. “If we realize like, this is not gonna work, short-term or long-term, then it’s time to sort of say for both parties involved, this is better off.”
The 25-year-old Simmons has not played this season for Philadelphia, citing mental health reasons as part of the reason he has stayed away. Marks said that he spoke with the 6-foot-11 point guard Thursday and again while Simmons was taking a physical Friday, adding that he believes the team’s imported star is “ecstatic” over the move.
Marks also indicated that he’s unsure how quickly Simmons will be able to join the lineup, although either or both of Curry and Drummond could play against the Heat.
“Like all players, you’re here to support them,” Marks said of Simmons. “Everybody’s going through different things in [their] lives outside of basketball and we’re here to support Ben. We’re here to support obviously our entire group, entire organization.
“All I can tell you is he was ecstatic about the circumstances that he was walking into and so are we. We were thrilled to get him on board and we’ll be here to support him from a physical standpoint, from a mental standpoint and get him engaged and get him around our group. I think that’s cathartic unto itself … Everyone likes their arm around each other and a hug every now and then and support and so forth. I think that’s what we’re gonna go into this situation with arms wide open, support him, support the new players to our team and get them together.”
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