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Sixers' James Harden, Paul Millsap Acquisition Became Official on Saturday

This past week, Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations, Daryl Morey, made his dream trade scenario happen. After pursuing James Harden over a

Justin Grasso

Sixers' James Harden, Paul Millsap Acquisition Became Official on Saturday
Sixers' James Harden, Paul Millsap Acquisition Became Official on Saturday /

This past week, Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations, Daryl Morey, made his dream trade scenario happen. After pursuing James Harden over a year ago when the star guard was disgruntled with the Houston Rockets, Morey finally landed the ten-time All-Star after Harden made it known he wanted out of Brooklyn.

In the process of landing Harden, the Sixers also acquired Paul Millsap after they sent Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, Ben Simmons, and draft picks. The deal was agreed upon a couple of hours before the trade deadline went into effect.

Later on Thursday night, the Sixers officially announced the trade. However, it wouldn’t become official until Harden and Millsap arrived in Philly to pass their physicals. 

Millsap and Harden weren’t around on Friday night when the Sixers took on the Oklahoma City Thunder. According to team officials, they were not with the team at all. On Saturday, the two newest acquisitions finally arrived in Philly. While they weren’t expected to play on Saturday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, they underwent their physicals.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, both Harden and Millsap passed their physicals on Saturday before the Sixers’ matchup against the Cavaliers. Now, the trade is official, and players on both sides can make their returns to the floor when deemed ready by their organizations.

When will Millsap and Harden make their Sixers debuts? The Sixers have yet to make that clear. As Harden has been dealing with hamstring issues lately and Millsap hasn’t seen the floor since the 19 minutes he played on January 13, both players have some work to do before they are ready to suit up for the Sixers for the first time. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

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