James Harden Trade To Philadelphia Shakes Up Things In The East For Miami Heat

The road to the NBA Finals through the Eastern Conference was already tough enough for the Miami Heat.

It may have just gotten tougher.

Before Thursday's NBA trade deadline was completed, the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers pulled off the biggest swap of the day According to ESPN, the Nets traded unhappy guard James Harden to the Sixers for guard Seth Curry, Ben Simmons, Andre Drummon and two first-round picks.

The Brooklyn Nets are trading James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022

How does this impact the Heat? It makes both teams involved better. The pairing of Embiid and Harden creates a scary combination. The Sixers now have the added scorer they lacked while Simmons was holding out. Simmons gives the Nets a versatile player who should have a renewed interest playing for a new team.

While the Heat may hold the No. 1 spot in the conference standings, they could see strong pushes from the Sixers and Nets, who are at No. 5 and No. 8 in the East, the second half of the season. The Heat already have enough to worry about with the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, the surprising Chicago Bulls and the young Cleveland Cavaliers.

The blockbuster Harden-Simmons trade should make for an even more interesting postseason.

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