76ers' Future and James Harden Trade: The Saga Ends

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00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 - I feel like Gilbert, and I hate to be like the old guy

00:08 yelling at the cloud here, but when I grew up in the NBA,

00:13 I loved breaking down the on-court product.

00:16 I still think that the NBA is in the best spot

00:19 they've ever been in the history of the NBA.

00:21 But somehow this guy ends up capturing the news cycle

00:26 year after year for things that don't happen on the court.

00:30 Like it's always about him not wanting to be where he is

00:33 and he wins in the end.

00:35 How does this keep happening?

00:36 - I mean, you say year after year, quite literally, Craig.

00:40 You think about it, it was January 21,

00:42 there was a trade from Houston to Brooklyn,

00:43 February 22, it was Brooklyn to Philadelphia,

00:46 and now October or November, 2023,

00:50 it's Philadelphia to Los Angeles.

00:53 Everything he's wanted every time.

00:55 But at least for now, we can put an end to the saga.

00:59 He asked for the trade, I guess, two and a half,

01:02 three months in the making,

01:04 since he opted into his final year

01:06 with the Sixers at the time.

01:08 Then he requested the trade,

01:09 then he called Darryl Mori a liar,

01:11 but finally the trade is here.

01:13 So I guess you can say we're putting a bow

01:15 on the storyline now.

01:16 And eventually we can focus on the on-court product

01:19 of whatever James Harden will look like

01:21 with this Clippers team,

01:22 whenever he suits up for the Clippers.

01:24 - I just, I can't believe that we're gonna do this again,

01:28 but let's do it here.

01:29 Now, let's go to the 76ers,

01:31 and I wonder what you think the message is here

01:34 for their season, Gilbert,

01:36 because their odds obviously lowered to win everywhere.

01:40 The Atlantic plus 370, the East 11 to one,

01:43 and their 28 to one to win the NBA championship.

01:46 Joel Embiid, usually in these situations,

01:48 will send out a social media comment.

01:50 I didn't really see one this time around,

01:52 so I'm not really sure what to make of that.

01:54 He's still one of the best players on the planet,

01:56 your future hall of famer, first ballot,

01:58 whatever that is, is Embiid,

02:00 and sort of the guys they have around him enough,

02:03 you think, to get them in a position

02:05 to at least compete for the East?

02:06 Because I think you would say

02:08 that they had a disappointing end

02:09 to their season last year.

02:10 - Definitely disappointing end for the 76ers last year,

02:13 something that they've become used to

02:15 over the past few decades.

02:16 But there's two things going on with Philadelphia.

02:19 First of all, you look at the Eastern Conference,

02:21 and I do think that the Celtics and the Bucs

02:23 are still in a class of their own.

02:25 But with the 76ers, maybe there is a little bit

02:27 of addition by subtraction here.

02:29 Tyrese Maxey is off to a great start to the season.

02:32 He was just named Eastern Conference player of the week.

02:34 He's averaging just under a shade of 31 points per game,

02:38 and maybe he'll be better without James Harden next to him,

02:42 and he comes from under the shadows of playing

02:44 next to James Harden.

02:45 Joel Embiid is the reigning MVP.

02:47 They did have a trade package that includes

02:50 Nicholas Batum, Marcus Morris, Kenyon Martin Jr.,

02:53 as well as Robert Covington,

02:55 who's back in Philadelphia for another stint.

02:57 I think the big question with the 76ers is,

02:59 are they done yet?

03:00 They've been linked to other stars.

03:01 Is it Zach Levine?

03:02 Is it OG Ananobi?

03:03 Maybe he's not a star, but he does have familiarity

03:05 with Nick Nurse, who's the head coach of the Sixers now.

03:08 So if they continue dealing,

03:09 and maybe they can continue to build that roster

03:12 and maybe get better, and a team that's better tailored

03:14 around Joel Embiid, because we know what James Harden was,

03:17 but we also know who he wasn't for that team moving forward.

03:20 So if the Sixers aren't done dealing yet,

03:22 then maybe they can make a play

03:24 and get on that same tier as the Bucs and the Celtics.

03:27 (upbeat music)

03:29 [MUSIC]

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