James Harden Trade Rumors: Clippers 'Not Motivated' to Improve Offer to 76ers

The Los Angeles Clippers are championship contenders whether they land James Harden or not, and they reportedly aren't interested in increasing any trade offers to land the guard.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Clippers aren't "motivated" to improve their offers to the Philadelphia 76ers in large part because "there's really not another active aggressive suitor for Harden. I don't get the sense there's any kind of trade for Harden in the short-term."

Unsurprisingly, it doesn't seem like there's a number of teams calling the 76ers to trade for a 34-year-old who has requested trades from multiple teams and consistently fallen short in the playoffs throughout his championship-less career.

The current situation is surely an uncomfortable one for the 76ers, as Harden picked up his player option this summer and still hasn't been traded. Wojnarowski reported in August that Philadelphia not moving him was "setting up an uncomfortable situation with the unhappy star."

That became all the more apparent when the future Hall of Famer said president of basketball operations Daryl Morey is a "liar" during a public appearance and also added he wouldn't play for a team that included Morey.

He was recently seen partying with a sign that said "Daryl Morey is a liar."

Yet Wojnarowski reported Tuesday that Harden is expected to join the 76ers in training camp as soon as Wednesday even though he still wants to be traded to the Clippers.

"The Sixers are asking for a lot to trade James Harden," he added. "They want to get back either a player who can help them now or assets that they could use to go get that player."

From Los Angeles' perspective, the lack of suitors means it doesn't have to worry about Harden being moved elsewhere while it decides what to do. That gives it essentially all the leverage in trade discussions, especially if the guard makes things even more untenable for the 76ers with the season approaching.

Philadelphia may have to accept less than it is hoping for or play out the season with an unhappy Harden in the rotation.