If the last seven months of Sixers basketball have felt a bit like The Twilight Zone, get ready to enter an entirely different dimension: The Deal Zone.
After buzz emerged of the Sixers and Nets re-engaging on talks around a Ben Simmons-for-James Harden trade Tuesday, the latest report from a prominent NBA insider suggests those talks have escalated - and might be headed towards a resolution sooner rather than later.
ESPN insider Brian Windhorst appeared on ESPN on Wednesday morning to report the latest intel he's heard about the Sixers' and Nets' trade conversations, and he came armed with plenty of good news for any Sixers fans invested in a deal before Thursday afternoon's trade deadline.
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Here's what Windhorst has heard from those in the know behind closed doors:
"The teams are absolutely engaged in trade discussions. I know there's people saying things on the record, trying to act like that's not happening, but it is absolutely happening. There is definite motivation from both sides to make this fall into place.
"The Sixers were out there yesterday having trade negotiations with other teams, looking to clear roster spots, looking to move other players on their roster - including Tobias Harris - in what looks like ancillary moves to support a James Harden arrival.
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"From what I'm told, Brooklyn's ask is still Ben Simmons and two or three other pieces, draft picks and players on the Sixers' roster. The Sixers don't want to do that. But as far as I can tell Greeny, we're in the Deal Zone between Harden and Simmons. I suspect they're going to get it done, I'm not going to tell you they're going to get it done, but it's trending in that direction."
The Deal Zone is probably the best thing I've heard all year. It's so silly, it doesn't actually define any parameters, and it's very fun to say. Great work from Windy, feeding the 24-hour news cycle insanity that is the NBA trade deadline in 2022.
Do we dare read too much into The Deal Zone? Absolutely. This sounds like concrete info from a well-sourced reporter that the two sides are not just talking but making progress.
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The Nets want pieces? Daryl Morey should give them pieces. He shouldn't give them Tyrese Maxey - and I'd imagine that hold-up is one of the primary reasons, if not the major reason, that a deal hasn't happened yet - but he should give them plenty of other things. He should give them Matisse Thybulle, he should give them Danny Green, he should give them the Sixers' unprotected 2023 first-round pick. Feel free, Daryl. You have my blessing.
Of course, it's very important to remember that not only are all leaks around this time coming from a party with a vested interest in the result, but also that things around the deadline change very fast. Crazy fast. So the Sixers and Nets are in The Deal Zone right now, but that doesn't mean they couldn't exit The Deal Zone in the next eight hours. We don't know how big The Deal Zone is. We don't know if it's permanent or temporary. We know nothing about The Deal Zone, other than it exists right now - which is something. I think.
We're approaching the 24-hour mark. It's about to get wild. James Harden might become a Sixer. Buckle up.