It's not Tyrese Maxey who the Brooklyn Nets want in addition to Ben Simmons, but—according to The Ringer's Bill Simmons—it's Seth Curry who they want in a James Harden deal.
"This is from the same source that has given me some good intel over the past couple weeks," Simmons said on his most recent podcast. "Brooklyn is open to it, but Curry has to be in the deal. You can aggregate this, I don't care. Brooklyn is looking at this year because they have Durant and Durant, we assume, is going to be healthy pretty soon. And the east is wide open and they want a chance to win. For them, the trade that makes sense for them is Simmons and Curry for Harden. This is what I heard."
Harden, 32, has a player-option for $47 million for 2022-23, but is expected to pursue free-agency for the first time in his career.
Curry, 31, is under contract for $8.5 million next season before becoming a free-agent in 2023.
Simmons, 25, signed a five-year contract worth $170 million in 2019. He is due around another $114 million over the next three seasons, according to spotrac.com.
Curry, Doc Rivers' son-in-law, has been excellent for Philadelphia since joining the organization before the 2020-21 campaign, averaging a career-high 15.3 points in 44 games this season. Nevertheless, you would think the Sixers wouldn't hesitate to move Curry if they were to get Harden in return.
Also on Monday morning, however, both ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Bleach Report's Jake Fischer reported that the Nets and Sixers have not talked recently about a Harden trade and the likelihood of the Nets trading Harden before Thursday's deadline is slim.
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Bill Simmons added he believes Bradley Beal makes more sense for Philadelphia than Harden, as last week it was reported that the Wizards All-Star guard is finally open to a trade.
Ben Simmons, 25, has not played a game for the Sixers this season, as he continues to seek a trade.
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