Analysis: James Harden trade gives Daryl Morey, Sixers enough pieces for another star hunt

It was well worth the trouble.

You have to play the long game in situations like this. There have been plenty of moments over the last few months when fans and media alike have grumbled that the Sixers should just get on with it. Take their medicine, wave goodbye to James Harden, stop waiting around for a parting gift.

What was the point of any of it?

Look at where they are now. By trading Harden to the Clippers for a package that includes a couple of first-round picks, the Sixers have put themselves in position to execute a pivot that would have been impossible three months ago. They didn’t just move on from Harden. They gave themselves the ability to replace him.

» READ MORE: Sielski: The key to the Harden trade isn’t who the Sixers got. It’s who they already had: Tyrese Maxey.

Remember where the Sixers were four months ago. They were staring at a seemingly irresolvable conundrum, a road to nowhere. They had two choices. Re-sign Harden and run it back with a team that had already failed twice at getting the Sixers to the conference finals. Or let Harden walk without any ability to replace him with another star. Essentially, start over from scratch.

The Sixers didn’t have the draft capital to land a competent starter, let alone a star. They didn’t have the salary-cap room to do anything other than wait for Tobias Harris’ contract to expire and then retool for 2024. Their only tradable asset outside of Tyrese Maxey was a future first-round pick, either in 2029 or 2030. They were stuck.

Now, suddenly, Daryl Morey has another chance to reinvent this team. He has a new coach, a new star at guard, and the reigning MVP. Just as significant, he has three tradable first-round picks, plus a pick swap, plus a handful of second-rounders, plus all the contracts he would need to make a major move happen. Those picks reportedly include an unprotected 2028 first-rounder from the Clippers, an asset that could have significant market value, considering where that long-in-the-tooth team could find itself in the not-so-distant future.

After all the controversy, all the posturing, all the frustration from the fans, the Sixers are arguably in a spot equal to or better than the one they would have been in had they never traded Ben Simmons for Harden in the first place.

A lot depends on Morey’s philosophy moving forward. He has always been a guy who believes first and foremost in superstars. He currently has two. A year ago, you wouldn’t have put Maxey in that category. But his performance through the first week of the season leaves little doubt. The Sixers have a primary perimeter scorer on par with the best in the league. They have him paired with Joel Embiid, who has won 50-plus games with every co-star he’s seen.

» READ MORE: Murphy: James Harden is the product of an NBA that has jumped the shark

Do they need a third? The Nuggets’ model would suggest not. Given what we’ve seen so far, is there any reason to doubt that the Embiid/Maxey tandem can be Nikola Jokić/Jamal Murray?

The Sixers still aren’t in a position to compete at the extreme top of the trade market. Look at the Jrue Holiday trade. Along with a couple of first-round picks, the Celtics traded Robert Williams III, a young big man with positive value now and good upside. They also traded a positive-value veteran in Malcolm Brogdon. For the Blazers, that probably constitutes a better package than the Sixers could have offered.

At the same time, Morey can at least entertain the thought of competing in that space. He has given himself options. They will have a fourth tradable first-round pick on draft night next June. The sum of all those parts doesn’t need to be a superstar. But they are the building blocks for what could be a legitimate cast of characters around Maxey and Embiid.

» READ MORE: Maxey and Embiid are showing that the surprising Sixers can survive minus Harden

As for the present, we’ll see. In an ideal world, Robert Covington replaces P.J. Tucker without skipping a beat. It remains to be seen what lies ahead for Marcus Morris and Nic Batum. At the very least, they are salaries that can be packaged with picks for players who make more sense.

There is a lot of heavy lifting that remains. But there is at least some light in the tunnel.