James Harden, Ben Simmons ready to resume playing

James Harden listens to a question from the media during a news conference Tuesday.

Associated Press

Feb. 15, 2022 3:28 PM PT

James Harden has an MVP and several scoring titles on his mantle — and now he’s ready to add a championship trophy.

Harden was introduced by the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday following last week’s blockbuster trade that sent disgruntled guard Ben Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets.

Asked if his new team can win the NBA title, Harden put up the shot all Sixers fans wanted to hear.

“Hell yeah,” he deadpanned. “My job is to help the team win a championship.”

In 12 seasons with Oklahoma City, Houston and Brooklyn, the 32-year-old Harden has made 10 All-Star teams, won the 2018 MVP and earned three scoring titles. He wants a title, and thinks it can happen in Philly.

“I just knew for a very long time this was a perfect fit,” he said. “It’s an opportunity of a lifetime.”

Harden missed his final four games with the Nets due to a hamstring injury and the first two since joining the 76ers. He practiced on Monday and Tuesday at the team’s training center in Camden, New Jersey, and will sit out Tuesday night’s home game against Boston and Thursday’s matchup at Milwaukee.

Harden is set to make his 76ers debut on Feb. 25 at Minnesota.

“After the (All-Star) break, we’ll get things going,” he said.

Harden is excited to pair with MVP front-runner Joel Embiid, who is leading the NBA in scoring at 29.5 points per game.

“I think we complete each other,” said Harden, who is leading the league in assists at 10.2. “The whole world knows how great Joel has been playing. His presence alone is unbelievable. I feel like I’m the same way as far as making my teammates better, and we have a great core of guys.”

The Sixers got Harden from Brooklyn hours before the trade deadline last Thursday along with Paul Millsap for Simmons, guard Seth Curry, center Andre Drummond and a pair of first-round draft picks. Their press conference to introduce him began shortly after Simmons spoke for the first time in Brooklyn.

The Sixers were 34-22 on Tuesday afternoon, 2½ games behind Eastern Conference leader Miami.

Philadelphia’s front office is elated to have a superstar to play alongside Embiid.

“Having an MVP and a guy on pace to be MVP if he can keep it up is really exciting,” 76ers general manager Daryl Morey said. “You’re looking at pretty long odds if you don’t have two great players at that level.”

Said coach Doc Rivers: “Being the winner is hard and that’s what we want to become and that’s why we made trades like this.”

Harden’s scoring average this season of 22.5 points is down slightly from his career average of 25.0, and he believes he’ll bring more than just scoring to the 76ers.

“My job is to help be the leader, to push guys and get that swagger out of guys every night because ultimately that’s’ going to help us get a championship,” he said.

Harden doesn’t anticipate problems playing alongside Embiid.

“We’re both at a high level to where we’ll figure it out,” he said.

Simmons moves on

Ben Simmons said Tuesday his mental health struggles began well before the 76ers’ season ended and he didn’t believe he’d be able to overcome them in Philadelphia.

He’s eager to begin moving on with the Brooklyn Nets, though isn’t sure yet when he will join them on the court. Nor was he sure how things got so bad in Philadelphia.

“If I knew, I would tell you everything,” Simmons said. “But there’s just a lot of things internally that had happened over time, and it just got to a place where I don’t think it was good for me mentally. So, it is what it is. It happened and I’m moving forward.”

He spoke at the Nets’ practice center, less than a week after the 76ers traded him to Brooklyn as part of a package for James Harden. Joined by coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks, his press conference was just minutes before the 76ers introduced Harden at their Camden, New Jersey facility.

The former No. 1 overall pick hasn’t played since the 76ers were beaten by Atlanta in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Postgame comments from teammate Joel Embiid and coach Doc Rivers after Simmons played poorly were considered the catalyst for his trade request, but Simmons said that wasn’t the case.

“That was earlier than that series or even that season that I was dealing with and that organization knew that,” Simmons said. “So it’s something that I continue to deal with, and I’m getting there and getting to the right place to get back on the floor.”

Simmons said he hopes to be ready to play by the time the Nets visit the 76ers on March 10.