On Sunday night, we were reminded anew of the value of sports franchises taking big swings, when the Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals to win the Super Bowl.
The victory came not quite 11 months after the Rams traded their previous starting quarterback, Jared Goff, to the Lions for their current one, Matthew Stafford, and roughly three months after they dealt for edge rusher Von Miller and signed wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
The Rams – whose general manager, Les Snead, typically sheds draft picks the way January dieters shed pounds – sacrificed four selections, including first-rounders this year and in 2023, in those deals. And that is indeed how it is in pro sports these days, and how it must be. In an era when player empowerment is a reality and player movement is a constant, it’s critical for a team to strike when the iron is hot (or nearly so), to make bold moves whenever prudent.
Windows of opportunity close quickly, whether because of discontent or dissension or injury or a thousand other reasons. The Rams, realizing that, were aggressive and reaped the benefits. Stafford threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp with 1:25 left in Sunday’s 23-20 thriller. Miller had two of Los Angeles’ seven sacks of Joe Burrow, and Beckham contributed a pair of catches before departing with a knee injury.
The Rams’ circumstances are analogous to those in which the 76ers now find themselves. Team president Daryl Morey, as is his wont, last week took one of those big swings when he traded Ben Simmons to Brooklyn for James Harden. It was a necessary move in that Simmons had no intention in lacing ‘em up for the Sixers ever again, but also one that carries with it no small amount of risk, given that Harden turns 33 in August and shows signs of being on the downside of his career.
And let’s not forget this: He forced his way out of Brooklyn in much the same way he forced his way out of Houston 13 months earlier. The Sixers would like to believe that the presence of Morey, the Rockets’ GM during Harden’s best years to date, will keep that from happening yet again. And sure enough, Morey greeted Harden’s plane when he flew into Philadelphia on Saturday.
The team’s fans would also do well to remind themselves that while Harden’s numbers this season are at least a bit troubling, the guy is a 10-time All-Star. His mesh with Joel Embiid figures to be sublime, and the bottom line is this: The Sixers, who stood little chance of winning the title as they were constituted before last Thursday, have one now.
It won’t be easy, of course. The Eastern Conference’s top five teams – Miami, Chicago, Cleveland, Milwaukee and the Sixers, in that order – are currently separated by 2.5 games, the top 12 by 12 games. Moreover, the teams with the three best records – Phoenix, Golden State and Memphis – reside in the West.
So a postseason gauntlet awaits, and the Sixers still have some flaws. They need another shooter, as well as a proven backup center, since Seth Curry and Andre Drummond were part of the Harden trade; goodness knows we have seen in recent years how impactful those shortcomings can be. The front office will likely have to scour the buyout market for solutions, and recall that that route proved fruitful in 2018, when Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova were brought aboard.
There is also the question of whether second-year guard Tyrese Maxey, a revelation this season, will operate as well off the ball as he has with it in his hands, since Harden will command it a great deal going forward. And Harden, whose defense tends to alternate between poor and laughable, will certainly need some help at that end.
It was nonetheless the right move. The Sixers were not going to do any better than this, and there was every expectation that Morey was going to do far worse in any transaction involving Simmons, given the months-long standoff between the team and the three-time All-Star.
I would, however, stop short of calling it the biggest trade in Philadelphia sports history, as Philly.com columnist Marcus Hayes did Sunday. He wrote that this outdistances the 1982 deal with Houston that brought Moses Malone to town in exchange for Caldwell Jones (not to mention, as Marcus did not, a first-round draft pick that became Rodney McCray, a solid pro).
Marcus, who I know and respect, wrote that “Simmons and Jones aren’t in the same conversation when it comes to value.” That’s true from a production standpoint, but while everyone seems happy to see a me-firster like Simmons go, CJ was beloved by his coaches and teammates – so much so that Billy Cunningham, the Sixers’ coach in that era, offered him his 1982-83 championship ring early the following season.
Which brings me to the other point: How can this trade be bigger than any other, if these Sixers do not, like the Moses-led club, run the table? While Harden promises to galvanize the team and the city, there are no guarantees, only opportunity.
Again, that’s the key thing: Morey has moved boldly, and put the club in a position to succeed. As with most other teams in this day and age (in all sports), the Sixers’ window is small – two years maybe, three years max. But it’s most definitely open. The fascinating part will be seeing whether they can shimmy through it.