Last season, many people on both sides were excited when the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers swapped Ben Simmons and James Harden.
Fans for both teams expected that the trade would pay off very well.
Harden would help Joel Embiid and would deliver offensively while Simmons could improve the defensive game of the Nets and become part of the team’s new big three.
We have now been given a small but worthy sample size to judge the merits of the trade.
So far this season 😳
James Harden: 107 points and 39 assists
Ben Simmons: 17 points and 21 assists pic.twitter.com/191g4aFX4I
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) October 25, 2022
Right now, it looks like the 76ers got the better end of the deal.
So far this season, Harden has been good for 107 points and 39 assists.
As for Simmons, he has delivered 17 points and 21 assists.
Simmons has struggled and hasn’t been the defensive powerhouse that the Nets wanted.
He has shown moments of greatness but then moments of falling back into old bad habits.
Are those habits he can break?
Ben In Brooklyn
Simmons hasn’t fit in too well with the lineup of the Nets.
He is still having a lot of trouble making his own shots and while his assists have been helpful, he has experienced other problems.
The young player has been a mess with his fouls and has fouled out of multiple games.
Additionally, he has sometimes not read the floor well at all and has made a few costly and clumsy plays.
Worst of all, he is injured again, which means that time that could be devoted to getting better and finding his rhythm is instead spent on the bench.
Harden is hurt too but his time in Philadelphia has been much more positive than Simmons’ in Brooklyn.
Right now, the 76ers are the ones happy with this trade but there is still time for Simmons to turn things around.
However, some fans are starting to lose hope.
NEXT: The Nets Cannot Rely On Kyrie Irving