NEW YORK — There’s something funny about the term “rock bottom:” It implies the current situation cannot possibly get worse.
Yet the Nets have crashed through one mantle of molten rock after another as they’ve spiraled down the Eastern Conference standings, further and further from their championship dreams every 48-hour news cycle.
Kyrie Irving refused to get vaccinated, Joe Harris (ankle) got hurt, Kevin Durant (MCL sprain) got hurt, and now it appears James Harden could be on the way to Philadelphia after all.
The writing was on the wall for a Harden deal once reports surfaced that he was unhappy in Brooklyn — unhappy with coach Steve Nash’s rotations, Irving’s unwillingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the load he’s had to carry in Irving’s absence, and, apparently, the exorbitant income tax rate he has to pay living in New York City.
Now, the Nets appear willing to at least listen to an offer. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that while there’s no urgency for the Nets to strike a deal with the 76ers for Harden, general manager Sean Marks and his front office “are believed to be open to discussing a deal.”
But what does that deal look like?
Remember: The Nets gave up Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince and seven years worth of draft assets — three first-round picks and four first-round pick swaps — to pry a disgruntled Harden from the Houston Rockets’ clutches. Moving Harden for Ben Simmons and a bunch of role players would be a failure of epic proportions.
In truth, the Nets should have known this reality was on the table: Harden has struggled to find success next to other superstars — Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Dwight Howard, and Carmelo Anthony each went to Houston to find success but each left worse off than they arrived.
And now, we’re here.
Harden has looked like a shell of himself this season. He is a turnover machine, a ball-stopper, an inefficient scorer and a turnstile on defense if he’s not in the low post. His numbers, by all accounts, are the worst he’s had since his trade from Oklahoma City to Houston after three seasons with the Thunder.
He’s now sitting a second game with left hamstring tightness despite saying his hamstring is not hampering him at all. One now has to wonder whether he’s actually injured or sitting to prove a point. Or perhaps Nash and the performance staff are resting their star because they know he’ll have to shoulder the load for home games Irving cannot play due to New York City’s vaccine mandate.
So what if the Nets want to deal? How do they not go out as suckers?
That deal, very clearly, begins with Simmons, but in trading for Simmons, the Nets are forfeiting their supercharged offense for a sizable improvement in defense in a young player who — at minimum — is unwilling to look to score under pressure.
A deal headlined by Simmons and role players alone is not enough. Not in a world where Irving is part-time, and certainly not in a world where Durant’s window to compete for a title in Brooklyn shrinks as dysfunction and chaos grows at Barclays Center.
There’s still a trade that allows the Nets to compete for a championship this season. This is what that deal looks like.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS RECEIVE: James Harden, Joe Harris, Bruce Brown, Jevon Carter
NETS RECEIVE: Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Danny Green
If the Nets are going to move on from Harden and concede defeat to 76ers GM Daryl Morey, they need to take the Sixers for everything they have. Again, the Nets don’t need more role players — not in a world where they’re giving up a star. If they’re going to move on from Harden, they’re going to need star power in return.
Simmons helps replace Harden’s playmaking and immediately becomes the best defender on the Nets. Yes, better than Durant because of his young legs and athleticism.
But to replace the offense you’re losing in a Harden trade, the Nets will need to take back Harris in a deal with Philadelphia.
Reports out of Philly suggest the Sixers want to move on from the five-year, $180 million deal they signed Harris to several summers ago. That makes sense: The Sixers shouldn’t have given him that deal if they knew Jimmy Butler was set to leave town.
Harris, as we’ve seen this season, is not a feasible second option, but in Brooklyn, he’d be third or fourth: Durant is the No. 1, Irving (when he’s on the floor) is the No. 2, and Simmons as the playmaker and facilitator would have the ball in his hands a chunk of the time, which would leave Harris as a third or fourth option.
That’s what you call a luxury, because no matter where you stand on him and his numbers, Harris is a three-level scorer who can get a bucket anywhere on the floor.
For the Nets, that has to be the price of admission. Add Danny Green to the mix, and you have another 3-and-D wing, which addresses a glaring need on this roster, even if Green is 34 years old.
One thing’s for sure: This is far from the Nets season anyone envisioned. This is supposed to be a clear-cut championship contender, yet they are just as close to the No. 1 seed as they are to the 11th seed.
That 11th seed would be the New York Knicks, who used to be this city’s beacon of dysfunction and all things wrong with this area’s professional sports.
Move over, Knicks. There’s a new big brother in town, though this one is a lot less tough than anyone saw coming.
