Sixers' James Harden, Paul Millsap Acquisition Became Official on Saturday

This past week, Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations, Daryl Morey, made his dream trade scenario happen. After pursuing James Harden over a year ago when the star guard was disgruntled with the Houston Rockets, Morey finally landed the ten-time All-Star after Harden made it known he wanted out of Brooklyn.

In the process of landing Harden, the Sixers also acquired Paul Millsap after they sent Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, Ben Simmons, and draft picks. The deal was agreed upon a couple of hours before the trade deadline went into effect.

Later on Thursday night, the Sixers officially announced the trade. However, it wouldn’t become official until Harden and Millsap arrived in Philly to pass their physicals. 

Millsap and Harden weren’t around on Friday night when the Sixers took on the Oklahoma City Thunder. According to team officials, they were not with the team at all. On Saturday, the two newest acquisitions finally arrived in Philly. While they weren’t expected to play on Saturday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, they underwent their physicals.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, both Harden and Millsap passed their physicals on Saturday before the Sixers’ matchup against the Cavaliers. Now, the trade is official, and players on both sides can make their returns to the floor when deemed ready by their organizations.

When will Millsap and Harden make their Sixers debuts? The Sixers have yet to make that clear. As Harden has been dealing with hamstring issues lately and Millsap hasn’t seen the floor since the 19 minutes he played on January 13, both players have some work to do before they are ready to suit up for the Sixers for the first time. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.