The 76ers will get to keep their first-round pick this year. And the Nets will keep rooting for Philadelphia to lose, deferring the pick into the 2023 draft.

The Nets had the right to use the pick — acquired as part of the James Harden trade — later this month or punt it to next year. They had until 5 p.m. on Wednesday to inform both the NBA offices and the Sixers, and they made it official.

On Feb. 10, the Nets sent Harden and Paul Millsap to Philadelphia for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, the unprotected first-round pick and a top-eight-protected first-rounder. They also created an $11.3 million trade exception.

“We’re going through as if we’re trying to find somebody for this roster, for this team that can help us move forward with,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said in May. “So obviously if we find a group that we think is going to be there, then we keep the pick. So that’s what we’re planning on right now.”

That was never likely, and the decision to defer went as expected.

The pick sat No. 23 overall in what is widely regarded as a fairly weak draft, and it has gotten even weaker. North Carolina State’s Terquavion Smith — who worked out for the Nets and was projected to go right around where they were to select — pulled his name out of the draft and has decided to return to school.

By deferring the pick — which would have resulted in a rookie who cost $2.5 million against the salary cap, and likely would have been hard-pressed to make the rotation on a contender — the Nets can package it with a trade exception in a deal for veteran. The 2023 draft is seen by experts as being deeper and stronger.

The Nets will also bank on the Sixers being weaker.

A healthy Joel Embiid put together an MVP caliber campaign in 2021-22, averaging 30.6 points in 68 games, but both of those were career highs. The oft-injured center hadn’t topped 51 games in either of his prior two seasons, and had played in more than 64. If he misses time in 2022-23, the Sixers could slide in the standings.

Harden’s own health issues could impact the pick. The former MVP has been in decline since suffering a Grade 2 hamstring strain in the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals, and hasn’t been the same since. His 40.2 shooting percentage and 32.6 percent mark from 3-point range in 16 games with Philadelphia are both the worst of his career.

A continued slide by Harden or another bout of disgruntlement and trade demand — he has forced his way out of both Houston and Brooklyn in a 13-month span — could see the Nets’ pick end up higher than No. 23, in what’s projected to be a better draft.