Maxey says he has ‘nothing but love’ for Simmons before Sixers-Nets meeting originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Even on teams that cherish unity, there’s never a single reaction to a trade.
It seems safe, however, to characterize the Sixers as collectively pleased thus far with the Feb. 10 deal that brought James Harden to Philadelphia and sent Ben Simmons to Brooklyn.
Simmons (return to competition reconditioning/back soreness) is out for Thursday night’s Sixers-Nets matchup at Wells Fargo Center, though he’s expected to be on Brooklyn’s bench. He’s yet to make his debut for the Nets, who sit eighth in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers are second and have scored 125.4 points per game with Harden in the lineup. They’re 5-0 in his appearances.
There are aspects of Simmons’ return that some Sixers players might prefer not to discuss with complete transparency in a public forum. The ultimate result of Simmons’ trade request — Harden being their teammate — isn’t one of them.
“It is what it is,” Georges Niang said following practice Wednesday at the team’s facility in Camden, New Jersey. “We have who we have in this locker room. I think we’re happy with who we have in this locker room. I’m just going to leave it at that. It is what it is. Who knows what he did or what he had to do to get himself right. Whether that’s right or wrong or indifferent, it’s not my place to speak on. Obviously I have my thoughts about that.
“If he’s happy where he’s at, then let him be happy. We’re happy that we have guys in this locker room that want to be here.”
Tyrese Maxey is in a unique position with Simmons, a fellow Klutch Sports client. Before the Sixers took Maxey with the 21st pick in the 2020 draft, the Kentucky product knew Simmons through summer workouts in Los Angeles. The 21-year-old became the Sixers’ starting point guard this season — and turned into one of the league’s most improved players — when Simmons held out of training camp.
“No, I haven’t talked much to him,” Maxey said. “I’m sure I’ll talk to him tomorrow. I’m just happy he’s happy. … I talked to the agency and everybody else around and as long as he’s happy, I’m happy as a brother, as a friend. When I first moved to L.A. and I signed to Klutch and did all those different things, Ben was one of the first people I met.
“He’s a great dude, great person. I really appreciate him. He took me under his wing, tried to help me as much as he possibly could and treated me like a brother. So I have nothing but love for him.”
Of course, the two Nets consistently present in the Sixers’ locker room this year were Seth Curry and Andre Drummond.
Both have assumed important roles for Brooklyn. Drummond has started at center and is fresh off a 20-point, 14-rebound performance in the Nets’ win Tuesday over the Hornets. Curry has averaged 15.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists, shooting 44.6 percent from three-point range.
For Sixers head coach Doc Rivers, having both players back in Philadelphia for a night will be especially meaningful. Curry is his son-in-law, and he’s known Drummond since the veteran big man was a teenager.
“It’s always great,” Rivers said. “Well, to see Seth, he’s in the family now. I can treat him like that again, and that’s nice, and my daughter and all that. And Drum, I just love. I’m just happy for Drum. I thought the league had given up on Drum a year ago. And that’s where you have a lot of pride as a coach and as a staff; I thought we made Drum back to what we told him he was before he came here.
“And now Drum’s valuable again. I’m just really happy. He’s just a terrific guy, so I’m happy for him. I just want him to really be bad tomorrow. That’d be nice.”
According to Rivers, the Sixers “didn’t even mention tomorrow one time today.” He did acknowledge, though, that there’s been “a little extra stuff” with the Sixers and Brooklyn. That included a tense back-and-forth between Joel Embiid and Kevin Durant at the end of the Sixers’ Dec. 30 win over the Nets. The two stars received technical fouls and Embiid told Durant to “go home” after the final buzzer.
If anything boils over Thursday, perhaps Niang will be part of it.
“I always seem to get myself in some little tussles,” he said, “so I wouldn’t be surprised if there was another one tomorrow night.”
As Niang noted, Harden is where he wants to be. And in his very early days as a Sixer, it would be difficult to find any negativity about his play or personality.
“He seems like a cool dude,” Shake Milton said last week. “He seems like he’s down to earth and he’s one of us, so it’s easy to come to work. It’s easy to get him to gel with us because he’s just one of us.”
Second-year wing Isaiah Joe, who looks set to remain in the Sixers’ rotation with Danny Green sidelined by a left middle finger laceration, had a similar impression of Harden.
“He’s been a great teammate,” Joe said. “I’m pretty sure y’all have already seen what he does on the court, but he’s even a great teammate off the court. You can learn a lot from him; he’s always teaching. He’s a real chill dude and he’s just good to be around. He really fits our environment.”
