The Philadelphia 76ers now have one of the best duos in basketball with James Harden and Joel Embiid running the show. They’re one of the biggest candidates to come out of the Eastern Conference.
Harden and Embiid developed an instant rapport on the court. Both have complemented each other’s offense perfectly and Harden’s presence has helped Mattise Thybulle take his offense to a new level.
Nonetheless, this duo may have never existed. If it wasn’t for the fact that Bradley Beal suffered a season-ending wrist injury, the Sixers would’ve traded for him instead for the Brooklyn Nets star.
NBA News: Sixers Would’ve Trade For Bradley Beal If He Had Been Healthy
(Transcript via Sam Amick of The Athletic)
“Speaking of the Wizards, however: In an alternate universe, a healthy Bradley Beal would have added significant drama to this past trade deadline.
The 76ers did their due diligence with the Wizards on Beal throughout the season, but many across the NBA say it was much more than that. Multiple sources said the 76ers worked during the season on a potential trade. Beal faced a decision on whether to force a trade out of Washington and Philadelphia had prominent interest at the deadline if he was cleared to play from his wrist injury.
The 76ers’ package would have been centered around Simmons and draft picks, sources said. Several teams beyond Philadelphia would have engaged should the Wizards have opened conversations, but that never happened. Beal ultimately did not request a trade, and underwent season-ending wrist surgery on Feb. 10, the day of the deadline.
In the end, the 76ers completed the blockbuster trade for James Harden with the Nets, a move they had been pursuing for the past year-plus and preferred among all others.”
Notably, some reports state that Beal could still be a prime target for the Sixers in the offseason. However, now that they don’t have Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, or Andre Drummond to make a deal, it’ll be interesting to see how Daryl Morey manages to get it done.