The Philadelphia 76ers just made one of the boldest moves in recent NBA history. They gave away Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and Ben Simmons for a soon-to-be free agent James Harden.
Harden, albeit one of the greatest scorers of all time, has struggled to adapt to the new rules. Moreover, he's not getting any younger and has dealt with multiple injuries over the past couple of seasons.
But when you have a disgruntled star wanting out and an MVP candidate like Joel Embiid, you don't hesitate to pull the trigger on a former MVP. Now, the Sixers are all-in on 'championship-or-bust' mode.
Joel Embiid Warns The NBA About The New-Look Sixers
“I mean, he used to say Scary Hours. I say scary minutes,” Embiid said after beating the Milwaukee Bucks. “For all the 48 minutes we’re going to be on the floor all together. I’m just excited for us to be healthy. I got to keep doing what I’ve been doing and I’m sure my teammates are gonna follow. We’re pretty excited about what we can accomplish.”
Harden Always Wanted To Be A Sixer
Harden is also quite motivated to bring his A-game to the City of Brotherly Love. Per his own words, Philadelphia was always his first choice ahead of Brooklyn when he wanted out of the Houston Rockets:
"Originally when I was going through everything I was going through in Houston, Philly was my first choice," Harden said, per CBS Sports. "It just didn't happen... I just knew for a very long time, this was a perfect fit. Obviously, you have the best big man in the league in Joel [Embiid], and then obviously the coaching. From top to bottom it made sense. I'm just happy and blessed that I'm here... I'm excited for the opportunity."
"It's a time where I needed to be around guys that I know want to win, and know that they are willing to do whatever it takes to win, and the structure here is unbelievable," Harden said. "Like Daryl [Morey] said, the window is now. So my job is to come out there and help him and help the entire team win a championship this year and in years going forward."
The Sixers were already a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference and that was with Ben Simmons not playing a single minute this year. Now, scary minutes are indeed ahead of the rest of the league.
