James Harden Trade Rumors: Morey Wants 1st-Round NBA Draft Picks, Not Clippers' Mann

If Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey is going to trade James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers, he reportedly wants some draft picks in return.

According to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, "Morey isn't stuck on receiving Clippers guard Terance Mann back in a Harden deal" and instead is more interested in future first-round picks that could help with any type of rebuilding or reloading that Philadelphia does.

Such a rebuild could quickly become a reality for the 76ers if Joel Embiid also asks to be moved.

Goodwill reported "many around the league believe Embiid will ask out sooner rather than later—and that a full rebuild is what Morey is covertly hoping for." If that becomes the case, those long-term draft picks will be more valuable than even a young player like Mann who could help in the immediate future.

As for the Clippers' picks, they may be well down the road. They own their first-round selections for 2027 and 2028, but those in the coming years belong to the Oklahoma City Thunder either outright or via pick swaps because of the Paul George deal.

Yet long-term Clippers picks could be quite valuable.

After all, George is 33 years old, Kawhi Leonard is 32 years old, Russell Westbrook is 34 years old and Harden, who could be on Los Angeles in such a hypothetical, is 33 years old. The Clippers would be in win-now mode with so many high-profile veterans, which could lead them to further compromise their future.

They already owe the Thunder multiple draft picks, and it isn't difficult to envision a scenario where the Clippers are championship contenders for a season or two and then fall toward the bottom of the standings when all those veterans either move on, retire or see their games regress.

Philadelphia could then land some of the most coveted picks of the draft come 2027 or 2028 in such a scenario.

A long-term rebuild may not sound that enticing to 76ers fans, especially after going through that with the infamous Process, but a Harden trade could pay off down the line if Morey lands those draft picks instead of Mann.