James Harden is leaving the Brooklyn Nets to join the Philadelphia 76ers, according to reports.
The teams have agreed a trade that will see Harden move to Philadelphia, while Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond head the other way, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said.
The deal reportedly also includes the Sixers sending the Nets an unprotected 2022 first-round pick as well as a protected 2027 first-round pick. The Nets will also include Paul Millsap in the deal.
Simmons was the subject of trade rumours in January 2021 when the Sixers pursued Harden from the Houston Rockets. Harden instead headed for the Nets, and Simmons saw out the season in Philadelphia, only for speculation to ramp up again after a deeply dissatisfying playoff exit.
Simmons has not played since June when Joel Embiid and Doc Rivers appeared to blame the former first overall pick for a Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
The 25-year-old Simmons averaged 14.3 points per game last season from his 58 appearances, plus 7.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists.
Harden, 32, has failed to settle in Brooklyn since arriving from Houston last January, averaging just 22.5 points per game this season, his lowest average since the 2011-12 season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, as well as 8.0 rebounds and 10.2 assists.
Curry has been enjoying the best season of his career in Philadelphia, averaging 15.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, while Drummond has managed just 6.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, the worst return of his career.
A four-team trade deal between the Detroit Pistons, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Sacramento Kings will include Marvin Bagley III heading to the Pistons and Serge Ibaka being picked up by the Bucks, according to reports.
Donte DiVincenzo is among the players heading to the Kings, while the Clippers receive Rodney Hood and Semi Ojeleye from Milwaukee.
Bagley, who was the second overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, averaged 13.5 points and 7.4 rebounds with the Kings having faced numerous injuries and struggled to fully establish himself in Sacramento.
Ibaka will join the Bucks as the NBA champions add someone with Finals experience from his time at the Toronto Raptors and Oklahoma City Thunder. The 32-year-old averages 6.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in 35 games this season.
The Bucks also receive two future second-round draft picks as well as cash considerations.
Sacramento, who only added Domantas Sabonis in a trade with Indiana on Tuesday, procured DiVincenzo from Milwaukee, as well as Josh Jackson and Trey Lyles from Detroit.
DiVincenzo has an average of 7.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in his 17 games so far this season, while Lyles is currently enjoying a career-best average of 10.4 points this year.
Hood and Ojeleye bolster the Clippers' depth having only featured from the bench this season for Milwaukee.
James Harden is leaving the Brooklyn Nets to join the Philadelphia 76ers, according to reports.
The teams have agreed a trade that will see Harden move to Philadelphia, while Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond head the other way, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said.
The deal reportedly also includes the Sixers sending the Nets an unprotected 2022 first-round pick as well as a protected 2027 first-round pick. The Nets will also include Paul Millsap in the deal.
Simmons was the subject of trade rumours in January 2021 when the Sixers pursued Harden from the Houston Rockets. Harden instead headed for the Nets, and Simmons saw out the season in Philadelphia, only for speculation to ramp up again after a deeply dissatisfying playoff exit.
Simmons has not played since June when Joel Embiid and Doc Rivers appeared to blame the former first overall pick for a Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel has not ruled out a trade involving Russell Westbrook ahead of Thursday's deadline.
Nine-time NBA All-Star Westbrook missed his first game of the season on Wednesday as the Lakers fell to a 107-105 defeat against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The 33-year-old's absence was put down to a back injury sustained the previous evening against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Westbrook spent the final quarter of that game watching from the sidelines, having earlier been jeered by his own fans, and later questioned Vogel's rotation policy.
That has done little to help the relationship between Westbrook and Vogel, with strong suggestions the 2017 MVP could be on his way out.
And rather than put an end to those rumours on the back of the defeat to Portland, Vogel instead offered a rather cryptic response.
Asked if there is a chance Westbrook will not be a part of the team once the trade deadline passes, Vogel said: "If there's a way to improve our team, we'll improve our team.
"I've got nothing else to say about the trade deadline."
Westbrook, traded to the Lakers from the Washington Wizards last August, has 1,006 points for the season, a tally bettered only by LeBron James (1,133) among Lakers players.
But Westbrook's 18.3 average through 55 games is his lowest since 2009-10, and down from the 31.6 managed with Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016-17 when crowned MVP.
He was on court for just 26 minutes against the Bucks prior to hinting at his displeasure with Vogel, who in response insisted no player is bigger than the team.
"The needs of the team always come first," he said on Wednesday. "We have to be willing to do whatever it takes to get the Lakers a win.
"Sometimes he's going to be in there for that, sometimes he's not."
The Lakers have now lost six of their last eight games and are 26-30 for the season, with a winning percentage of .464 placing them ninth in the Western Conference.
James, who top-scored for the Lakers against the Trail Blazers with 30 points, admitted the trade rumours are having a negative impact on his side.
"Obviously it's something that's weighing on this group that we're trying to all get through," he said.
"It almost feels like fog in the air and we're all trying to see what's on the other side of it."
Russell Westbrook played no part as the Los Angeles Lakers fell to a 107-105 defeat against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.
A day after hinting at his unhappiness at coach Frank Vogel, and with lingering doubts over his future ahead of Thursday's trade deadline, Westbrook watched from the bench.
It is the first game the nine-time All-Star has missed all season, though Vogel could at least still call upon the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis from the beginning.
James scored 30 points for the Lakers, who led 54-47 at half-time, only for the depleted Trail Blazers to slowly turn things around before rallying in the fourth quarter.
Anfernee Simons led the scoring for Portland with 29 points, while Jusuf Nurkic added 19 points and 12 rebounds as the hosts held on to snap a six-game losing streak.
Bogdanovic and Mitchell inspire Jazz to victory
The Golden State Warriors' nine-game winning streak was ended in emphatic style as they fell to a 111-85 defeat to the Utah Jazz.
Without the injured Rudy Gobert for an eighth game, the Jazz were inspired to victory by 23-point Bojan Bogdanovic and Donovan Mitchell, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Warriors, without Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala and James Wiseman, finished with a shooting percentage of 36 per cent in what was their heaviest defeat of the season.
DeRozan stars again
Five-time NBA All-Star DeMar DeRozan was serenaded by "MVP!" chants after scoring 36 points in the Chicago Bulls' 121-109 victory over the out-of-form Charlotte Hornets.
DeRozan hit 30 points for a fourth game running, during which time he has averaged 37.5 points, while Nikola Vucevic finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Darius Garland's 27 points on his return from a back injury helped the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 105-92 win against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Toronto Raptors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-98 for their seventh straight win and the Sacramento Kings were 132-119 victors against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Utah Jazz have reportedly sent Joe Ingles to the Portland Trail Blazers and received Nickeil Alexander-Walker as part of a three-team trade.
According to ESPN, the Jazz also sent Elijah Hughes to Portland and will receive Juancho Hernangomez from the San Antonio Spurs. Both teams got second-round picks from Utah in addition.
Tomas Satoransky, who landed with the Trail Blazers after C.J. McCollum was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, joins the Spurs as part of the deal.
The Jazz will hope Alexander-Walker can fill the gap left by the season-ending ACL injury Ingles, 34, suffered last month.
Last year's Sixth Man of the Year runner-up has been an important role player for Utah and last week assured he would return to playing after undergoing knee surgery.
Alexander-Walker, a promising third-year guard, is averaging 12.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists this season.
The speculation around Ben Simmons and what his situation means for the rest of the Philadelphia 76ers has been unhelpful, coach Doc Rivers acknowledges.
The NBA trade deadline passes on Thursday – in theory meaning an end to Simmons gossip at least until the end of the season.
Led by MVP candidate Joel Embiid, the 76ers are an impressive fifth in the Eastern Conference despite being without second man Simmons for the whole year so far.
The former number one overall pick has been the subject of trade talk for over a year and has actively pushed for a trade since before this season started.
The 76ers have not yet managed to find a deal that suits them, although the looming deadline may focus minds.
Potential trade options are seemingly decreasing, however, with the Sacramento Kings pulling out of talks and the Washington Wizards' Bradley Beal out for the year.
That might mean Simmons staying in Philly, but Rivers is just keen to get to the end of the week regardless.
"Absolutely," Rivers said of anticipating the deadline. "Especially this year, just because of the situation we're in.
"I know our guys are NBA players and all that, but they're human.
"I can't imagine the amount of names that have been thrown in. So every single guy goes to bed tonight thinking this may be his last night or whatever, so that's tough. It really is."
Should Simmons go elsewhere or stay on the sideline, the Sixers will require reinforcements at point guard. Rivers said the team "have to" add depth behind Tyrese Maxey, a breakout star in Simmons' absence.
But there is also the possibility Simmons himself could be the man to bolster Rivers' roster, making an improbable return to action.
Team-mate Embiid said after Tuesday's defeat to the Phoenix Suns: "Like I've been saying since the season started, I'm happy.
"Whoever wants to play is welcome. If someone wants to play, they're welcome. But we've got guys here that want to be here, that show up every single night."
The center was speaking in response to a question on Simmons, who he criticised following last year's playoff loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
In a lengthy answer, Embiid added: "If you want to be part of us, I am sure everybody is going to be fine with it, but you've got to show up. You've got to want to be there. And I'm sure everybody is going to accept whoever that is."
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