PHILADELPHIA — Ben Simmons got his wish, a trade out of Philadelphia. The 76ers got their second superstar, with James Harden coming over in a blockbuster multiplayer trade with the Brooklyn Nets.

The Sixers sent Simmons, their disgruntled All-Star guard, along with guard Seth Curry and center Andre Drummond to the Brooklyn Nets in a deal for Harden. The Sixers will also get Paul Millsap and the Nets get draft picks, according to people with direct knowledge of the decision.

The move was confirmed Thursday by people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been announced. It came just five days after Coach Steve Nash said the Nets wouldn’t trade Harden, and only 13 months after they acquired the 2018 NBA MVP to play with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

But Harden could have left this summer as a free agent and the Nets decided it wasn’t worth the risk to wait, ending their Big Three experiment after the trio played only 16 games together.

The Sixers can’t wait to test drive the Harden-Joel Embiid partnership.

Simmons did not play this season for the Sixers in the wake of a trade demand centered largely around hurt feelings coming off last season’s playoff loss. Simmons averaged 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists over four seasons with Philadelphia, which drafted him out of LSU, where he played only one season.

His defining moment as a Sixer came when he passed up a wide-open dunk against Atlanta in the second round of last year’s playoffs that would have tied the game late in Game 7.

The end of Simmons’ time in Philly came down to this: He was stung by comments made by Coach Doc Rivers and Embiid in the aftermath of the Game 7 loss and how he shouldered the blame for the Sixers’ playoff woes.

His refusal to shoot beyond 15 feet – he is 5 of 34 on 3-point attempts in his career – and his postseason failures at the free-throw line have seemingly outweighed his playmaking ability and a spot last season on the All-Defensive first team.

Simmons made a surprise return to the Sixers shortly before the season opened, but was promptly kicked out of practice and suspended for one game. The punishment didn’t matter, because the No. 1 pick of the 2016 draft had no intention of ever playing. He later cited mental health concerns.

Harden has been out because of a hamstring injury while trade rumors intensified.

The Nets acquired the three-time scoring champion from the Houston Rockets in a deal last January, with the idea that Harden, Durant and Irving would be too potent to stop. The Nets loaded up for a title run with three of the highest-paid players in the league, but a run with them never materialized.

Harden and Irving were both hurt last year in the playoffs and the Nets lost in the second round to eventual champion Milwaukee. With Irving not joining the Nets until December this season – only for road games – and with Durant injured in January, the Nets got only two games out of their Big Three this season.

The Nets are 2-10 since Durant sprained his left knee, an injury that could keep him out until after the All-Star break. With Irving ineligible to play in home games because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19 as mandated by New York City, it placed a heavy burden on Harden. Harden can become a free agent after the season, though he could pick up his $47.3 million player option.

The 76ers are getting an MVP-worthy year out of Embiid, and their team president, Daryl Morey – who was in the front office with Houston when Harden played for the Rockets – made the deadline deal to ensure the Sixers have plenty for the championship push.

Embiid leads the league in scoring with 29.4 points per game and has scored at least 25 points in 30 straight games. The pressure was on in Philly not to waste a season of his prime.

ESPN first reported the deal.

Curry, Rivers’ son-in-law, gives the Nets outside shooting they have missed with Joe Harris out following ankle surgery. Drummond could start or play a key role off the bench for a team that has mostly played small.

“For us, we just look forward and get excited about what the next chapter looks like,” Nets Coach Steve Nash said Thursday evening before Brooklyn played at Washington. “Just be ready to adapt, and fortunately for us we’ve had plenty of experience adapting.”

The fresh start for the deal’s big stars also includes new uniform numbers. Harden’s 13 is retired in Philadelphia for Wilt Chamberlain, and Simmons’ No. 25 was retired by the Nets for Bill Melchionni.

WIZARDS: The Washington Wizards made two trades before the deadline, acquiring Kristaps Porzingis from the Dallas Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans, and sending Montrezl Harrell to the Charlotte Hornets for veteran backup point guard Ish Smith, second-year forward Vernon Carey Jr. and a future second-round draft pick.

Porzingis never established the bond with Dallas star Luka Doncic that the club hoped would develop when Dallas acquired Porzingis in a trade with the New York Knicks before the deadline in 2019.

Porzingis, 26, signed a $158 million, five-year contract with the Mavericks before ever playing for them. The 7-foot-3 Latvian averaged 20 points and 8.8 rebounds in 134 games with Dallas.

Dinwiddie started all 44 games he played for the Wizards this season, averaging 12.6 points and 5.8 assists. Although his career 3-point shooting percentage is just 32%, Dinwiddie gives Dallas another scoring option in the backcourt with Tim Hardaway Jr. likely sidelined until the playoffs with a broken foot.

Bertans started his career with Dallas rival San Antonio and was solid as a backup the previous two seasons in Washington. But the 6-10 Latvian’s playing time is way down this season, along with his scoring and rebounding averages.

Harrell’s acquisition by Charlotte gives the Hornets an inside player who can score and defend. Harrell is 6-foot-7 but has a 7-foot-4 wingspan, and he’s expected to play both power forward and center.

Harrell, 28, is a North Carolina native and is averaging 14.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 46 games this season while shooting 64.5% from the field.

• Wizards guard Bradley Beal had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist, the team said.

Beal opted earlier this week to have the season-ending surgery. A three-time All-Star, Beal averaged 23.2 points and a career-high 6.6 assists in 40 games before he suffered a torn scapholunate ligament on Jan. 29 at Memphis.

Beal’s surgery was performed by Dr. Michele Carson at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

BUCKS: The reigning NBA champions got center Serge Ibaka for the Los Angeles Clippers as part of a four-team exchange that also involved Detroit and Sacramento.

The Bucks sent wings Rodney Hood and Semi Ojeleye to Los Angeles. As part of the trade, Sacramento is receiving Donte DiVincenzo for the Bucks and Trey Lyles and Josh Jackson from Detroit, while the Pistons get Marvin Bagley Jr. from the Kings.

RAPTORS-SPURS: Toronto acquired veteran forward Thaddeus Young from San Antonio, and sent Goran Dragic and a first-round pick to the Spurs.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

GRIZZLIES 122, PISTONS 107: Ja Morant scored 23 points, Steven Adams added 17 points and 14 rebounds and visiting Memphis routed Detroit.

Desmond Bane added 22 points for the Grizzlies, who have won four straight and seven of eight. Memphis had seven players score in double figures.

Jeremi Grant scored 20 points for Detroit, which has lost six in a row.

HEAT 112, PELICANS 97: Bam Adebayo had 29 points and 10 rebounds, Jimmy Butler also scored 29, and visiting Miami tarnish CJ McCollum’s New Orleans debut.

Kyle Lowry added 14 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds to help Miami win its fourth straight while snapping New Orleans’ four-game winning streak.

The crowd roared when McCollum, who was traded from Portland on Tuesday, was announced as a Pelicans starter. He scored 15 in his first game for New Orleans, but missed 15 of his 21 shots and was just 2 of 10 from 3-point range.

WIZARDS 113, NETS 112: Kyle Kuzma had 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double, leading injury- and trade-depleted Washington to a win at home against Kyrie Irving and equally in-flux Brooklyn.

Raul Neto scored a season-high 21 points in his first start of the season, and reserve Anthony Gill had a career-high 15 points for the Wizards.

Irving scored 31 points as the only star on the Nets’ makeshift roster as Brooklyn’s season-worst skid extended to 10 games. Cam Thomas added 27 points.

RAPTORS 139, ROCKETS 120: Gary Trent Jr. scored a season-high 42 points, and Toronto pushed its season-high winning streak to eight games with a victory at Houston.

It was Trent’s seventh game with 30 points or more this season. Pascal Siakam added 30 points for his sixth 30-point game of the season. Trent and Siakam both got going early and had 25 and 26 points, respectively, by halftime as Toronto built a 73-64 lead.

MAVERICKS 112, CLIPPERS 105: Luka Doncic scored 28 of his career-high 51 points in the first quarter, and Dallas won at home.

Despite Doncic hitting seven of his first nine 3s in the highest-scoring quarter of his career, the Clippers were as close as two points in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles stayed in the game with more balanced scoring, led by Marcus Morris Sr. with 21 points.

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