76ers, Nets' Updated Title Odds After Ben Simmons, James Harden Trade

The Philadelphia 76ers' odds to win the 2022 NBA championship received a significant bump Thursday after acquiring All-Star guard James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets prior to the trade deadline.

FanDuel Sportsbook revealed that the Sixers have gone from +1100 to +550 to win the NBA title, while the Nets have fallen from +350 to +420:

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Nets sent Harden to the 76ers for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, an unprotected 2022 first-round pick and a protected 2027 first-round pick.

While the Nets are still FanDuel's betting favorites to win the championship, the Sixers are now all alone as the No. 5 betting choice, breaking a tie with the Miami Heat, who remain at +1100.

In parts of the two seasons Brooklyn had the Big 3 of Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving together, they only played 16 games as a group. Because of that, they were never able to fully reach their potential.

Now, the Nets have traded Harden, have Durant on the shelf with a knee injury and only have Irving available for road games due to his decision to not receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

They did land a top-flight defender and playmaker in Simmons, however, the three-time All-Star has not appeared in a game this season due to his refusal to play for the Sixers.

Simmons was the runner-up for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award last season, and in four NBA seasons overall, he owns career averages of 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

The biggest issue with Simmons is his lack of shooting acumen, as he has made only five three-pointers during his career and shoots 59.7 percent from the free-throw line for his career as well.

Simmons was a scapegoat for the Sixers' playoff failures last season after he averaged only 11.9 points per game and shot 34.2 percent from the charity stripe during the postseason.

It can be argued that Simmons is a better fit for the Nets than Harden was, though, as he will have no problem deferring to KD and Kyrie, and his defense is leaps and bounds ahead of Harden's.

The Nets also got a career 43.7 percent three-point shooter in Curry and a four-time rebounding champion in Drummond, so it is understandable why they are still at the top of the heap.

As for the Sixers, they essentially shipped out a dead spot on their roster in Simmons and a couple of complementary pieces for a second star to pair with NBA MVP candidate Joel Embiid.

Since Simmons isn't offensively inclined, the Sixers have long lacked an outside threat to take pressure off Embiid. Harden changes that since he is a three-time scoring champion and one-time NBA MVP.

Harden's scoring average of 22.5 this season is his lowest since 2011-12 when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder, plus he is shooting just 41.4 percent from the field and a career-low 33.2 percent from beyond the arc.

He experienced his greatest success with the Houston Rockets when Daryl Morey was general manager, however, and Morey is now the Sixers' president of basketball operations.

The fact that Harden has never won a championship could be cause to temper expectations, but the Sixers are clearly going for it.

Philly is just 2.5 games out of first place in the Eastern Conference at 32-22, while the Nets are 5.5 games out and in the midst of a nine-game losing streak, putting them at 29-25 for the season.

The 76ers are likely the more dangerous team as of now, but once Durant returns to action, all bets are off.