Philadelphia 76ers stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are looking forward to having Jimmy Butler join them.

The shooting guard, who finally got the trade he so wished for, should begin playing with Philly this week after a long drawn-out saga over in Minnesota. And the Sixers' young superstars are excited to see how things will work out.

The news of the trade came as a surprise for Philadelphia's players before their loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, leaving them piqued over the fact that a third star will be joining them for the remainder of what is turning out to be a very decent campaign.

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“There’s a sad side to it,” Simmons said after the loss, via NBA.com. “But obviously, there’s a business side and whatever the front office decides to help us win, whatever they want to add. We are open to Jimmy and can’t wait for him to get here. I’m excited to play with him.

“Between me, [Joel Embiid] and Jimmy, we all have that similar mindset of we hate losing, that pisses us off and we want to win.

"A guy like him who can come in, score the ball, veteran leadership, experience - he's going to fit in here. Our culture is winning, playing together as a team and playing hard. I think he's going to bring that."

Simmons confirmed having spoken to Butler after finding out he was headed to Philly but Embiid hadn't up to that point. Instead, he consulted Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.

"They thought that he was going to be good for us," Embiid said. "They thought that we were definitely going to get along. He wants to win. [Wiggins] told me that he thought that we were going to win the East for sure."

The Sixers will lose Robert Covington, Dario Saric and Jerryd Bayless as part of the trade. Embiid has also admitted that he will miss them but understands that it's a business and is ready to move on.

"I miss Dario and [Covington]," he added. "They gave us a lot the past couple of years. I felt like we were starting to play really well together and figure it out. Dario was finding himself again, and Cov is first-team all-defense, doing his job and knocking down shots. I felt like we were starting to like really figure it out and play well together.

"But it's a business. Gotta move on. Love those guys. Wish them luck. I miss them, I love them. Gotta keep in touch with them."

As for Butler, the star center reckons the shooting guard will bring some much-needed defence to the team.

“I think he’s going to help us a lot offensively and especially defensively," he continued.

"With the type of system we play, we like to move the ball. The ball goes through everybody’s hands, so I don’t think bringing someone else will take the ball out of my hands or Ben's hands. We are going to figure it out. I’m sure he’s coming in here willing to fit in.

"I’m excited to see where he takes us, and how much better we are going to look.”

Simmons, meanwhile, doesn't think Butler's inclusion will affect the way he plays.

“It’s not going to affect my game. I know how to play,” last season's Rookie of the Year insisted. “I know what I’m good at. I know what I can do on the floor, him coming in helps us, and having another scorer on the floor, and another vet who will play the game the right way.”

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