James Harden Trade Rumors: Clippers Told 76ers 'There's No Deal Here' for Star PG

It was reportedly the Los Angeles Clippers and not the Philadelphia 76ers that cut short trade discussions surrounding James Harden this offseason.

"From what I understand, it was the Clippers who said, 'okay, there's no deal here. We're going to move on,'" ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported during a discussion with colleagues Bobby Marks and Ohm Youngmisuk (31:50 mark).

It was no secret for much of the offseason that Harden wanted to go to the Clippers, but a trade never materialized.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in August that Philadelphia did look for trades with Los Angeles and others when the guard requested to be moved after picking up his player option. However, Wojnarowski also noted "the Sixers' asking price was steep and no teams, including the Clippers, were willing or able to meet it."

It would follow, then, that it was Los Angeles that ended trade discussions if Philadelphia was asking for too much.

The 76ers find themselves in something of a tricky situation, as having Harden on the roster is the best realistic option to compete for an NBA Finals run in the Eastern Conference. They surely want to maximize Joel Embiid's prime, and having the NBA's reigning assists leader could help them do that.

Yet the Harden situation got ugly this summer when he called president of basketball operations Daryl Morey a "liar" and said he "will never be a part of an organization that he's a part of" during a public appearance.

The NBA fined the 10-time All-Star $100,000 for the comments.

The uneasiness of that situation meant the Clippers had plenty of leverage in the trade discussions and clearly weren't willing to give up what the 76ers were looking for to move a player of Harden's caliber.

For now, Harden remains on the 76ers in a situation that will be among the NBA's top storylines to follow when the season begins in October.