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Hoops Rumors Glossary: Starter Criteria

February 23rd, 2022 at 8:27am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s rookie scale, which determines how much first-round picks earn during their first four NBA seasons, also dictates how much the qualifying offers will be worth for those players once they’re eligible for restricted free agency after year four. However, the value of those qualifying offers can fluctuate depending on whether or not a player has met the “starter criteria.”

Here’s how the starter criteria works:

A player who is eligible for restricted free agency is considered to have met the starter criteria if he plays at least 2,000 minutes or starts 41 games in the season before he reaches free agency.

A player can also meet the criteria if he averages either of those marks in the two seasons prior to his restricted free agency. Due to the fact that only 72 games were played in the 2020/21 season, these requirements have been slightly adjusted, but will return to normal next season.

A player’s ability or inability to meet the starter criteria impacts the value of the qualifying offer he receives as a restricted free agent, as follows:

  • A top-14 pick who does not meet the starter criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the 15th overall pick would receive if he signed for 120% of the rookie scale.
    • Note: For the summer of 2022, the value of this QO will be $7,228,448.
    • Example: Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2018’s No. 8 overall pick) won’t meet the starter criteria this season. As a result, he’ll be eligible for a QO worth $7,228,448 instead of $8,559,357.
  • A player picked between 10th and 30th who meets the criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the ninth overall pick would receive if he signed for 120% of the rookie scale.
    • Note: For the summer of 2022, the value of this QO will be $7,921,300.
    • Example: Hornets forward Miles Bridges (2018’s No. 12 overall pick) has met the starter criteria this season. As a result, he’ll be eligible for a QO worth $7,921,300 instead of $7,459,974.
  • A second-round pick or undrafted player who meets the criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the 21st overall pick would receive if he signed for 100% of the rookie scale.
    • Note: For the summer of 2022, the value of this QO will be $4,869,012.
    • Example: Thunder wing Luguentz Dort (an undrafted free agent) has met the starter criteria this season. As a result, he’ll be eligible for a QO worth $4,869,012 instead of $2,228,276 if Oklahoma City declines his team option to make him a restricted free agent.
  • For all other RFAs, the standard criteria determine the amounts of their qualifying offers.

Extending a qualifying offer to a player who is eligible for restricted free agency officially makes that player an RFA, ensuring that his team has the right of first refusal if he signs an offer sheet with another club. It also gives the player the option of signing that one-year QO.

Generally, the value of a restricted free agent’s qualifying offer isn’t hugely important, since very few RFAs accept those offers outright. There are exceptions though.

In 2020, for instance, Kris Dunn met the starter criteria, which ensured that his qualifying offer would have been worth $7,091,457 instead of $4,642,800. The Bulls opted not to extend that $7MM+ QO, making him an unrestricted free agent, and he ended up signing a two-year, $10MM contract with Atlanta. If Dunn hadn’t met the starter criteria, it’s possible Chicago would’ve been more comfortable issuing a $4.6MM qualifying offer, which would’ve significantly changed the way Dunn’s free agency played out.

We’ll revisit the starter criteria at season’s end to see which of 2022’s potential restricted free agents will have their qualifying offers impacted by meeting – or failing to meet – the starter criteria.

So far, of this year’s RFAs-to-be, Bridges, Dort (team option), Deandre Ayton, Mohamed Bamba, and Jae’Sean Tate (team option) have met the starter criteria. There are a few players who could still get there, led by Anfernee Simons, who has made 26 starts and logged 1,555 minutes.

Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Information from Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ and RealGM was used in the creation of this post. Earlier versions of this post were published in 2019 and 2020.

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Rest-Of-Season NBA Dates, Deadlines To Watch

February 21st, 2022 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

With the All-Star Game behind us, we’re preparing for the home stretch of the 2021/22 NBA season. Here are a few noteworthy dates and deadlines to keep an eye on before the playoffs begin in April.

February 28

A team with cap room can renegotiate a player’s current-year contract to give him a raise as part of a contract extension. However, the only club with any real cap space is Oklahoma City, and the Thunder only have one extension-eligible player, Isaiah Roby (Luguentz Dort will become extension-eligible next month). I wouldn’t count on the Thunder renegotiating and extending Roby’s contract in the next week — he has spent much of the season out of the team’s rotation.

March 1

  • Last day a player can be waived by one team and remain eligible to appear in the postseason for another team.

As we outline in our glossary entry on buyouts, a player doesn’t need to be signed by March 1 in order to retain his playoff-eligible — he simply can’t be waived after that date. A player who is waived on March 1 and signs with another team on April 8 would be playoff-eligible for his new team, but a player who is waived on March 2 and signs on March 5 wouldn’t be.

March 10

The Cavaliers ($3.2MM), Nuggets ($2.6MM), and Pelicans ($1.9MM) still have disabled player exceptions available that they could use to sign a player to a rest-of-season contract or to claim a player with an expiring contract off waivers. However, disabled player exceptions are used more frequently at the trade deadline than after it, especially when the buyout market lacks marquee names. The likeliest scenario is that these DPEs will expire without being used.

April 10

  • Last day of the NBA regular season.
  • Last day players can sign contracts for 2021/22.
  • Last day two-way contracts can be converted to standard NBA contracts.
  • Luxury tax penalties calculated based on payroll as of this day.

More than half of the NBA’s teams currently have at least one open spot on their 15-man rosters. It’s safe to assume that most – if not all – of those clubs will fill those openings by April 10. Playoff teams will want to make sure they have as much veteran depth as possible, just to be safe, while several lottery teams will likely sign younger players to multiyear deals without guarantees beyond this season in order to get a longer look at them in the summer.

April 11

  • Playoff rosters set (2:00pm CT).

April 12-15

  • NBA play-in tournament.

April 16

  • NBA playoffs begin.

While they wait for the play-in tournament to conclude, the top six teams in each conference will get a longer-than-usual break between the regular season and the postseason, giving them some time to recharge before the playoffs begin.

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Community Shootaround: NBA’s Next Disgruntled Star

February 21st, 2022 at 9:53am CST by Luke Adams

When Ben Simmons was pushing for a trade out of Philadelphia prior to the 2021 season, multiple reports indicated that Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey was holding out for a deal that netted his team a star.

The thinking was that even if no team was willing to proactively shake up its roster in the fall by trading an All-Star player for Simmons, it would only be a matter of time before a player of that caliber became disgruntled with his current situation and asked for a trade. When that happened, Morey and the 76ers wanted to be ready to pounce.

While Morey faced some criticism at the time for his stance, it was a defensible one — in recent years, the NBA generally hasn’t made it more than a few months before a star player shakes loose. Sure enough, in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline, whispers of James Harden‘s discontent in Brooklyn grew louder and louder, culminating in the deadline-day blockbuster that sent Harden to the Sixers and Simmons to the Nets.

The Simmons and Harden situations are just the latest examples of the superstar wanderlust that has dominated the NBA for at least the last half-decade. Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook (twice), Paul George (twice), and Harden (twice) are among the players who have requested – or demanded – trades to new teams within the last five years.

Taking into account the NBA’s recent history, it’s probably safe to assume that another star player will be angling for a trade before the end of 2022, whether that takes the form of a private request to the team or an ugly public standoff.

As Howard Beck of SI.com writes in his article on the subject, speculation among team executives has focused on players like Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, and Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard.

All of those players have said the right things publicly, but a June report claimed that Williamson’s family wanted him out of New Orleans, and there has been plenty of chatter about Mitchell’s relationship with teammate Rudy Gobert being a warning sign in Utah. Lillard, meanwhile, seriously considered his future last summer and remains committed to Portland for now, but with the team in retooling mode, it’s possible he’ll eventually try to win a title elsewhere.

Those aren’t the only stars worth keeping an eye on. Wizards guard Bradley Beal can be a free agent this summer, and Washington isn’t exactly close to championship contention. Irving can also reach free agency in 2022 and his union with the Nets seems less stable than it did a year ago, in part due to his inconsistent availability due to his vaccination status. Even Lakers star LeBron James has raised eyebrows lately with comments about his future and his apparent frustration with L.A.’s deadline inactivity.

It sometimes only takes one down year, one short-lived postseason run, or one bad relationship to convince a star player to ask out, so it’s certainly possible that other players we haven’t mentioned could become unhappy with their current situations in the coming months — at this time last year, we certainly didn’t expect Harden to be seeking another trade so soon.

With all that in mind, we want to know what you think. Which star(s) will be the next to push for a trade? How soon will it happen, and how many stars might we see change teams this summer?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

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Poll: Who Will Win The 2022 Three-Point Contest?

February 18th, 2022 at 10:18pm CST by Rory Maher

The 2022 NBA Three-Point Contest takes place Saturday night and features eight participants (betting odds via Chad Smith of Basketball Insiders):

There are two rounds in the competition; the three highest scores from the first round advance to the championship round, and the highest scoring competitor in the championship round will become the victor. A first-time winner will be crowned this year, as only Young and LaVine have made prior appearances in the event, this being Young’s second attempt and LaVine’s third.

Each participant gets 70 seconds to attempt a total of 27 shots — five from each of the traditional racks located at the corners, wings, and top-of-the-key, and two “Dew Zone” locations six feet behind the arc. The deep racks feature just one ball each, but they’re worth three points apiece.

Young, VanVleet, Lavine and Towns are all pulling double-duty, as the four players were all selected to the All-Star game. Bane is as well, as he’s a member of Team Isiah for the Rising Stars event.

Going purely by three-point percentage this season, Kennard leads the group at 44.8%, followed by Mills and Bane (41.9%), Towns (40.9%), VanVleet (40.1%), LaVine (39.9%), McCollum (38.9%), and finally Young (38.3%).

However, VanVleet leads all competitors in makes (4.0) and attempts (10.0) per game by a considerable margin — McCollum is second with 3.1 makes and 8.0 attempts.

What do you think? Who will win this year’s Three-Point Contest? Will Towns defy the betting odds and take home the crown? Will LaVine triumph in his third attempt?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

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Nine Candidates To Be Promoted From Two-Way Contracts

February 18th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Since last week’s trade deadline, four teams have promoted a player from a two-way contract to a 15-man roster spot — the Celtics (Sam Hauser), Thunder (Aaron Wiggins), Rockets (Daishen Nix), and Heat (Caleb Martin) all took advantage of roster openings to make such a move.

For a playoff-bound team like Miami, promoting a two-way player to the 15-man roster ensures he’ll be eligible to play in the postseason.

That’s not exactly a pressing concern for a team like Oklahoma City or Houston, but it still made sense for them to promote Wiggins and Nix, respectively, because they were able to lock those rookies up to four-year contracts that will be worth the minimum salary going forward. Both Wiggins and Nix have non-guaranteed third and fourth years on those deals, so the Thunder and Rockets will have the ability to bail early if their investments don’t work out.

Even after that flurry of promotions, there are still several players around the NBA on two-way contracts who are candidates to get new deals before the end of the regular season.

Here’s a closer look at which players could be next in line for a bump up to the 15-man roster:

Amir Coffey (Clippers)

Coffey has emerged as a regular rotation player for the Clippers this season, averaging 22.2 minutes per contest in 48 games (20 starts). He hasn’t missed a game or played fewer than 13 minutes since December 20 and is averaging 8.4 PPG and 3.0 RPG with a solid shooting line (.459/.380/.886).

The Clippers don’t currently have an open spot on their 15-man roster, so there’s no clear path for Coffey to sign a standard contract unless someone is waived. Newly-acquired swingman Rodney Hood or forward Semi Ojeleye are probably be the best candidates to be released — L.A.’s deadline deal to acquire that duo from the Bucks appeared to be more about tax considerations than about targeting those specific players.

Kessler Edwards (Nets)

Like Coffey, Edwards has been a regular contributor lately, starting 19 of 20 Brooklyn’s games. And like the Clippers, the Nets have a full 15-man roster, creating a temporary roadblock for an Edwards promotion.

It’s trickier finding expendable pieces on the Nets’ roster. Bruce Brown, James Johnson, and Blake Griffin are among those on expiring contracts and they haven’t exactly been setting the world on fire, but they’ve been rotation players when healthy. Jevon Carter has been in and out of the rotation, but is owed a guaranteed $3.9MM salary next season.

Edwards slumped badly entering the All-Star break, averaging 2.3 PPG on 18.9% shooting in his last eight games. If that trend continues, the Nets probably won’t need to find room for him on their 15-man squad. But if he bounces back, the team may want to ensure he’s playoff-eligible.

Jose Alvarado (Pelicans)

Alvarado appeared in just eight of New Orleans’ first 35 games, then played in the next 23 before getting a DNP-CD on Thursday. The addition of CJ McCollum may limit Alvarado’s playing time going forward, but the rookie has proven he’s capable of stepping in and providing the Pelicans with solid minutes. The team’s open roster spot could be earmarked for him or fellow two-way player Gary Clark.

Trent Forrest (Jazz)

Forrest has had a nice February for Utah, putting up 8.0 PPG, 4.1 APG, and 1.6 SPG on 52.4% shooting in seven games (22.6 MPG). The Jazz have an opening on their roster and could create a second one if they decide Juan Hernangomez isn’t in their plans. I’d expect Forrest to claim one of those spots by the end of the season, though the in-the-tax club may prefer to hold off for a few more weeks in order to keep its tax bill in check.

Justin Champagnie (Raptors)

Champagnie’s role as a rookie has been inconsistent, but the Raptors like his potential and will probably try to sign him to a multiyear deal before the end of the season if they can negotiate favorable terms. Toronto currently has an open roster spot and still has some of its mid-level exception available to offer Champagnie a contract of up to four years.

Trendon Watford (Trail Blazers)

The Trail Blazers have a full 15-man roster for now, but that group includes at least one expendable veteran in Joe Ingles, who is on an expiring contract and will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. It’s also unclear if recently-acquired players like Eric Bledsoe, Elijah Hughes, and Didi Louzada will finish the season in Portland.

In other words, if the Blazers want to promote Watford, who has played in every one of the team’s games in 2022, there should be a path to do so.

Davon Reed (Nuggets)

At one point, Reed looked like a prime candidate for a promotion to the Nuggets’ 15-man roster, but his playing time has decreased in the last month, and if Denver wants to keep DeMarcus Cousins for the rest of the season, the veteran center would become the club’s 15th man.

A standard contract isn’t out of the question for Reed – injured forward Vlatko Cancar could be waived if the Nuggets need to make room for both Cousins and Reed – but the Nuggets may decide to see how the next few weeks play out before deciding whether or not to make the young wing playoff-eligible.

Duane Washington / Terry Taylor (Pacers)

With Indiana shifting into rebuilding mode, Washington and Taylor should both continue to play regularly, like they have in recent weeks. Taylor, in particular, has been very productive in limited minutes, averaging 9.5 PPG and 6.8 RPG on .598/.444/.769 shooting in 13 games (19.0 MPG).

The Pacers already have one open roster spot and could create a second one by waiving injured guard Ricky Rubio, though if they value his Bird rights, they’ll want to keep Rubio on the roster. Still, I’d be surprised if at least one of Washington and Taylor doesn’t sign a standard contract in the next month-and-a-half.

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Trade Rumors App For iOS/Android

February 18th, 2022 at 3:32pm CST by Luke Adams

If you enjoy Hoops Rumors on your smartphone or tablet, be sure to check out our free Trade Rumors app!

Trade Rumors, available for iOS and Android, is the best way to consume our content on a mobile device. Here’s what it delivers, all for free:

  • All the articles from Hoops Rumors, MLB Trade Rumors, Pro Football Rumors, and Pro Hockey Rumors in an easy-to-navigate, eye-catching format. Swipe through stories to quickly consume all the news and rumors from our four sites. Not into all four sports? No problem – any sport can be easily removed.
  • Customize what you see. You can create feeds for any team or player across any of our sites.
  • Notifications. For any team or player, you can set up push notifications to ensure you always get breaking news instantly. Notifications can also be set up at the sport level.
  • Commenting. You can read and contribute comments on the app seamlessly.
  • Customer service. If you find a bug, we’ll fix it. If you have a feature request, we’ll consider it. The app is continually evolving and improving.
  • Did we mention Trade Rumors is a free app? What do you have to lose? Download it now!
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2022 NBA Buyout Market Watch

February 18th, 2022 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2022 NBA trade deadline is behind us, but that doesn’t mean teams are finished making roster moves. With over a month-and-a-half left in the 2021/22 regular season, there are still many roster spots to be filled around the NBA, as well as veterans who might not finish the year with their current teams.

The NBA’s buyout market has been active since the trade deadline and could feature several more moves in the next week or two.

[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Buyouts]

A veteran in an undesirable situation due to his playing time or his team’s place in the standings (or both) could ask to be released and may even be willing to give back a little money to accommodate the move. Some teams might make that decision unilaterally, opting to release a veteran to open up a roster spot for a younger player.

Over the rest of the month, we’ll use the space below to monitor the buyout market, keeping tabs on which veteran players have been bought out or released, and which have found new teams. We’ll also keep an eye on players who are potential buyout candidates. The list will be updated daily.

A player on an NBA contract must be waived by the end of the day on March 1 in order to retain his playoff eligibility, so that will be a key date to watch.

Here’s our breakdown of the 2022 NBA buyout market:

Last updated 3-3-22 (8:08pm CT)

Veterans who have been recently bought out or released and are free agents:

Not every player who has been cut since the trade deadline will be mentioned here. Essentially, this list is just made up of players with at least a few years of NBA experience who could be of immediate interest to teams in the playoff mix.

To that end, we’re not listing young players such as Jahmi’us Ramsey, KZ Okpala, Armoni Brooks, or Moses Brown, since they’d be unlikely to draw interest from playoff teams who are in win-now mode and looking for veteran depth.

We’re also not listing injured veterans like PJ Dozier, Cody Zeller, Michael Carter-Williams, or E’Twaun Moore, unless it becomes clear that the player will be able to return in the coming days or weeks.

Veterans who have been bought out or released and joined new teams:

Other veterans who could be candidates to be bought out or released:

We had viewed these players as possible buyout candidates, with some more realistic than others. However, they all made it through the March 1 playoff eligibility waiver deadline without being cut, so they appear likely to finish the season with their respective clubs.

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Hoops Rumors Glossary: Buyouts

February 18th, 2022 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

Once the NBA trade deadline passes, the league’s buyout season unofficially begins. What exactly are buyouts, and how do they work? Today’s Hoops Rumors glossary entry will examine those questions. Let’s dive in…

What is a buyout?

While the term “buyout” is often applied colloquially when any veteran is released after the trade deadline, it applies specifically to a player who gives up a portion of his salary to accommodate his release. Rather than waiving a player outright, a team will negotiate the terms of the player’s release. Then, once the player clears waivers, his guaranteed salary with his previous team will be reduced or eliminated altogether.

So far this season, we’ve seen Spurs guard Goran Dragic and Pacers big man Tristan Thompson agree to buyouts. Those two veterans each surrendered in the neighborhood of $800K to their respective teams in order to reach free agency.

What’s the motivation for a buyout?

The most common form of buyout involves a veteran player on a non-contending team being granted his release during the final year of his contract to join a playoff club down the stretch.

It typically happens after the trade deadline because by that point there’s no other way for a player to change teams. It’s even more frequent if the player was traded at the deadline for salary-matching purposes to a team that doesn’t view him as part of its plans.

Dragic and Thompson each fit this bill. The Spurs and Pacers probably aren’t going to make the playoffs this season and are more focused on developing their young players. Buyouts for those two veterans will give them a chance to join teams with loftier short-term aspirations.

For the player, the motivating factor is generally the desire to play for a winning team rather than a chance to earn more money. In their buyouts, Dragic and Thompson gave up roughly the amount of money they’ll make on new prorated minimum-salary contracts, so they likely won’t come out ahead financially — they’ll just get a chance to play in the postseason before returning to free agency in the summer.

As for the team, there’s little downside to letting a veteran go, since the player is usually in the final year of his contract and the club completing the buyout is rarely in contention for a playoff spot. Buying out that veteran can save the team some money, earn some goodwill with a player and an agent, and open up minutes for a younger player to take over.

Read more

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Poll: Which Team Will Win Western Conference?

February 18th, 2022 at 7:48am CST by Luke Adams

On Thursday, we asked you which Eastern Conference team will make the NBA Finals this season. At the moment, no team in that poll has more than 24% of the vote, and five clubs have at least an 11% vote share.

While the East has been the conference of parity this season, the Western Conference has been something quite different. Two teams, the Suns (48-10) and Warriors (42-17), have controlled the top of the standings for essentially the entire season — no other club has cracked the top two since November 10.

Teams that have a ton of regular season success but haven’t yet proven themselves in the playoffs are often regarded with skepticism, not considered true contenders until they make a deep postseason run. But Golden State’s current core, led by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green – has a long history of playoff success. And while Phoenix certainly can’t match the Warriors’ recent track record, the Suns showed last spring that they were no fluke, making it all the way to the NBA Finals and coming within two wins of a title.

In other words, these two teams are legit, and look like the odds-on favorites to meet in the Western Conference Finals. But that’s obviously not a foregone conclusion yet, with a handful of intriguing clubs filling out the playoff picture.

The Grizzlies, for one, are putting pressure on Golden State for the No. 2 seed in the conference — their 41-19 record puts them just a game-and-a-half back of the Dubs. Memphis is one of those teams we alluded to above, whose lack of recent playoff success means they’ll have plenty of skeptics to win over. But Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson, and company have shown they’re not willing to back down from anybody and have made the Grizzlies one of the NBA’s most exciting teams.

The Jazz (36-22) have championships aspirations and look great when they’re firing on all cylinders, but they’ve been up and down this season and have been exposed at times by smaller lineups. The Mavericks (35-24) are hoping that this year’s supporting cast is a better fit for Luka Doncic, but they’ll still only go as far as their All-NBA guard takes them.

The Nuggets (33-25) are one of the Western Conference’s most interesting contenders. Nikola Jokic has kept them firmly in the playoff mix with another MVP-caliber performance, and he could get some help before the end of the season — if Jamal Murray (ACL) and Michael Porter Jr. (back) return for the playoffs and look anything like their 2020/21 selves, Denver will be an extremely tough out.

Like Denver, the Clippers (30-31) and Lakers (27-31) could be dangerous if they’re at full strength, but Kawhi Leonard seems like a long shot to make it back this spring for the Clips, and the Lakers haven’t been able to put it all together even when their stars are healthy.

The Timberwolves (31-28) currently hold the top play-in spot ahead of the two Los Angeles teams and are looking to clinch a playoff spot for just the second time since 2004. It’s too early to rule anything out, but a deep postseason run seems unlikely for a Minnesota team that would’ve been happy entering the season just to earn a playoff berth.

If the nine teams we’ve already mentioned finish in the top 10, that leaves one play-in spot for a group that includes the revamped Pelicans (23-36) and Kings (22-38), the surprisingly-surging Trail Blazers (25-34), and Gregg Popovich‘s young Spurs (23-36). Again, never say never, but it’s a pretty safe bet that none of these teams will be representing the West in the Finals this June.

What do you think? Which Western Conference team do you expect to make it to the NBA Finals? How many legitimate contenders do you think there are in the West?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

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Community Shootaround: Nets, Sixers Playoff Hopes

February 17th, 2022 at 10:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

We’re a week removed from the biggest trade in the NBA this season and the early returns haven’t even come in.

James Harden has yet to make his Sixers debut. Ben Simmons remains a few weeks away from wearing a Nets uniform.

According to VegasInsider.com, the Nets and Bucks are currently co-favorites to win the Eastern Conference with the Sixers having the third-best odds.

It will be fascinating to see who ultimately benefited from the trade or perhaps if both teams weakened themselves.

This is an all-in move by the Sixers, given Harden’s age and penchant for quickly souring on the team he’s on. Brooklyn was backed into a corner by Harden’s desire to play in Philly but the deal may end up improving its chemistry.

Harden obviously gives the Sixers a formidable 1-2 offensive punch with Most Valuable Player candidate Joel Embiid. The latter has delivered the best season of his career, keeping Philadelphia within striking distance of the conference’s best record despite Simmons’ refusal to play.

Harden will certainly ease the scoring burden on Embiid. The Sixers had to surrender one of their best shooters, Seth Curry, in the deal but held onto defensive stalwart Matisse Thybulle and young point guard Tyrese Maxey. While Philadelphia apparently tried to dump Tobias Harris’ contract prior to the deadline, he’s still a solid, consistent, low-maintenance contributor.

If and when the Nets get all their pieces back from injuries, their roster remains stacked. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving can carry the scoring load and won’t have to incorporate Harden into the equation. Given that Adam Silver criticized New York City’s vaccine mandate this week, there’s a good chance Irving will eventually be able to play home games.

Simmons’ lack of perimeter shooting could be masked by the weapons around him. He’s also one of the top defenders in the league, so if his free throw shooting isn’t a total disaster, he should be able to finish out games. That’s a best case scenario for Simmons and the Nets – it’s anyone guess whether Simmons is physically and mentally ready to perform under playoff pressure.

With Curry, Patty Mills and Joe Harris (whenever he returns from his ankle issues), there are plenty of perimeter shooters to space the floor for Brooklyn.

Both teams will have to build chemistry on the fly and it’s important to note Embiid, Harden, Durant and Irving have all dealt with significant injuries in recent seasons, often during the postseason.

That leads us to our question of the day: In the wake of the blockbuster James Harden-Ben Simmons trade, which team will go deeper into the playoffs – the Sixers or Nets?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

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