The Philadelphia 76ers saw veteran star James Harden as their missing piece just a few years ago, but it’s now obvious that wasn’t the case.

There was a heavy fallout between Harden and 76ers team president Daryl Morey, which Morey credited for the organization landing forward Paul George. Signing George was an indirect result of the dispute, as Philadelphia was still forced to give up serious assets to acquire Harden from the Brooklyn Nets.

Because of this, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey re-graded the deal a C+ for the 76ers.

“Prior to Harden’s most recent move to L.A., it would’ve been pretty easy to lampoon this from the Philadelphia perspective,” Bailey wrote. “He never went past the second round as a Sixer. By the time he was on his way out, he was very publicly and aggressively calling team president Daryl Morey a liar.”

The Sixers moved Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, Ben Simmons, a 2023 first-round pick, and a 2027 first-round pick to acquire Harden, along with big man Paul Millsap.

“Giving up draft capital and a one-time franchise cornerstone in Ben Simmons for that kind of headache seems like, at first glance, a disaster,” Bailey shared.

It’s apparent that moving on from Simmons was a blessing, as he’s appeared in just 57 games since leaving Philadelphia. While they didn’t reap the benefits right away, the 76ers are ready to contend for an NBA championship less than three years later.

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