Harden-Simmons megadeal shakes up NBA title odds after wild trade deadline

The standoff between Ben Simmons and the 76ers is finally over - and the betting market is higher on Philadelphia than ever before.

After weeks of anticipation leading up to Thursday's NBA trade deadline, the Sixers finally shipped off the former No. 1 pick - along with Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round picks - to the Nets for superstar James Harden and reserve big Paul Millsap.

The deal drew swift reaction from oddsmakers, who had already shaded Philly's title odds in anticipation of the potential blockbuster move. The 76ers saw their price slashed at +600 at theScore Bet - adjusted from +1000 earlier in the week - while the Nets (+450) remain slim title favorites.

Here are the full NBA Finals odds following Thursday's 3 p.m. ET deadline:

Sixers finally land star for Simmons

The big story here is the 76ers, who were clearly one piece away despite MVP favorite Joel Embiid's career campaign thus far. They found that piece in Harden, a former MVP who was suffering through arguably the worst season of his career. The obvious question remains: Which Harden will show up in Philadelphia?

The seven-time All-NBA star averaged 35.2 points and 7.5 assists in his final two full seasons with the Rockets. He hasn't been the same player since forcing his way out of Houston early in the 2020-21 season. Although he's averaged an NBA-leading 10.5 assists since joining the Nets, his shooting efficiency surprisingly plummeted despite playing alongside two elite scorers.

Sixers general manager Daryl Morey - who held the same title in Houston from 2007-20 - is clearly betting on the Rockets version of Harden. His usage rates will likely shift closer to his pre-2021 marks and potentially unlock the lethal scorer that led Houston to the conference finals, a stage the 76ers haven't reached since 2001.

The biggest concern for Philadelphia's years-long pursuit of a title remains after this deal. The 32-year-old Harden missed 10 of his team's last 28 games and was sidelined for half of Brooklyn's second-round loss in 2021. Embiid's injury issues are well-documented. Can the two stay healthy for 16-plus games come April?

Nets still title favorites

Brooklyn's title outlook remains virtually unchanged, in part because of Harden's awkward fit alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Now the Nets will look to Simmons - who hasn't played since Game 7 of last year's conference semifinals - to replace Harden as a facilitator and anchor their shoddy defense, which ranks 20th in efficiency as of Thursday.

Can the Nets mask Simmons' offensive inefficiencies in a way that the 76ers never could? He'll be surrounded by more shooting than he ever was in Philadelphia, and his size and playmaking allow Brooklyn more flexibility with its lineups than it had with Harden in tow. Still, Simmons is a massive question mark for a team priced as such a short favorite.

That's not the only major concern with this team, either. Barring a change over the next few months, Irving will only be available for road games during the postseason. Durant's availability is an open question, too, as he's played just 36 of 54 games (66.7%) this season and will likely be tasked with a significant workload in the postseason, as he was a year ago.

It all adds up to arguably the biggest boom-or-bust proposition in the NBA for a team clinging to the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. If the Nets can get all three stars firing on all cylinders, they'll be near-impossible to beat. That's still a narrow window of opportunity if you're betting on a title run - especially at such a short price.

C Jackson Cowart is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on Twitter (@CJacksonCowart) or email him at [email protected].