In the NBA, you have to give something to get something.
While the Philadelphia 76ers found themselves in a unique situation this year, as had an incredibly in-demand player who refused to take the court, essentially serving as a one-way trade value asset, Ben Simmons’ inclusion in a deal surely wasn’t going to be enough to secure Daryl Morey the sort of All-Star caliber player he pined after.
No, to get back James Harden, the One Piece of Morey’s NBA journey, the Sixers had to say goodbye to a few players that were obviously liked, but just not as much.
Fortunately, the Philadelphia 76ers came out of the deal a better team right now, as they swapped out their starting two guard and reserve center averaging 18.4 minutes per game for a player four years removed from being league MVP; a player who ranks 37th all-time in points scored and second this season in assists per game at 10.2. Unfortunately, the deal will give Doc Rivers less time with his grandkids, as one of the players traded was his son-in-law.
The Philadelphia 76ers will miss Seth Curry for more reasons than one.
In the BH times – Before Harden – Doc Rives gave the following quote, “I didn’t see crap in Seth (Curry). I just wanted to see my daughter more, see my grandkids. I mean, if he was a bum, I still got to see my grandkids.”
Is this statement from Philly’s other Doc objectively hilarious? Oh, you’d best believe it; Rivers occasionally drops the best quote in the business, and he was particularly on with this one, but it’s also factually accurate. With Curry as a member of the Sixers, Rivers could visit with his daughter Callie and his two grandchildren whenever he pleased, even if the shooting guard in question was a “bum” on the court.
But now? Well, I guess he could still visit whenever he’d like; the commute will just take a little longer.
Will the Sixers miss Curry on the court? Yes, Curry hit 42.6 percent of his shots from 3 and was the best pick-and-pop partner Embiid has had in the two-man since J.J. Redick. When Rivers calls a timeout and opts to draw up a play on his whiteboard, he will definitely miss the JoJo-Curry connection, but hey, that’s not the worst problem to have; Rivers will just have to draw up some new plays with Sam Cassell and company to capitalize on his new offensive weapon. Regardless of the growing pains, when you can swap out a player like Curry and his very team-friendly contract for a legitimate top-15 player who can score 20 on any team minus the Tyrese Haliburton Kings, you sort of have to do it, even if it costs a few additional picks to avoid including Matisse Thybulle in the deal.
Sidebar: Since Tyrese Haliburton is now a member of the Indiana Pacers, the Sixers appear set for the return of good old-fashioned 20 points per game Harden.
There’s no doubt about it; this wasn’t an ideal day for Doc Rivers. Sure, I would imagine he’s over the moon on the addition of James Harden, but he’ll definitely miss Seth Curry on and off the court, as well as Andre Drummond, who he had been friendly with since the two-time All-Star was in high school. *sigh* oh well, I guess we will have to see how things turn out. The good news is if the Philadelphia 76ers pull it off and win a championship a few months from now, both Curry and Drummond – and potentially Simmons too – will get rings for their efforts and be welcomed back with open arms to the parade down Broad.