James Harden is a Sixer, and Daryl Morey Is Owed An Apology

 As I type these words, the Internets are ablaze with the news that the Sixers have traded Ben(edict) Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and a couple of first round picks to Brooklyn for James Harden and Paul Milsap.

Thoughts!

> For anyone who has spent the past 6+ months howling how the Sixers were wasting Joel Embiid and had to do a deal (any deal) now now now... um, I'm glad Daryl Morey is in charge of the Sixers, and you are not.

> For anyone who is convinced the Sixers will miss the slow-and-dough stylings of Curry, a guy who can't defend, stay healthy, and is best used as a bench scorer than a starter... um, nope, not in crunch time. Seth is adorable and I liked him and all, but reality. 

> For anyone who is worried that the Sixers won't be able to rebound or defend when Embiid is off the court with the loss of Drummond... um, team stats and not individual ones, please. The Sixers have been a bad rebounding team all year even with Embiid, and Drum's irrational faith in his passing abilities has also been a very mixed bag. You can get much of what you've "lost" from him with a motivated Milsap, or just by playing Charles Bassey or Paul Reed. Fungible big men do not change playoff game outcomes.

> For anyone who is anything but thrilled at the idea of Embiid and Harden in half court without having to give up Tyrese Maxey or Matisse Thybulle... um, you do not deserve Daryl Morey as your GM. Dude just aced this.

> For anyone who is worried that Harden will quit on the Sixers like he quit on Brooklyn and Houston... um, all of his teammates here are vaccinated, and he's playing with the best big man in the world. He also wants a ring and to get paid, like, a billion dollars. Motivation should not be an issue.

> For anyone who is worried about the draft picks, for heaven's sake, live a little. You already have Peak Embiid, you can't just assume that will last forever.

> If you really want to worry about something, sweat Harden's health, fitness, age. Imagine how small Tobias Harris will be now that he's super low usage third guy, or that Maxey will stop being the most delightful player in town. Remember that thrown together teams rarely gel fast enough to win right away. And such.

I don't think they are valid worries, but there are 30 teams and only 1 gets to win. Betting against the Joel/Beard Sixers is always defensible, because betting against any team is always defensible.

Me, I'm just going to watch Peak Joel Embiid play with the best teammate he has ever had. And enjoy it.