James Harden Trade Rumors: Clippers Want 76ers Star More than Malcolm Brogdon

The Los Angeles Clippers have been connected in trade talks with both Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden and Portland Trail Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon, but the Clippers want the former player more than the latter.

ESPN's Zach Lowe offered the latest on the most recent Lowe Post podcast (h/t RealGM Wiretap).

"The Clippers want Harden. It's a real thing. They want Harden. They want him more than they want Malcolm Brogdon. Pretty confident in that. And the fact that they're this interested in Harden, interested enough to throw out an unprotected pick. Or whatever it is. Whatever offer they've thrown out. I think is a vote of slight anxiety at the very least that their team as presently constructed is simply not good enough to win the title.

"Which is kind of depressing because, in a way, trading everything for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George was supposed to inoculate you from having to trade almost everything again for another player while Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were still on your team. Not a minor trade. That was in play. Not a small upgrade here or there. But here's everything we have left, go get us something else. I think they hoped that this was the team. This was the team that would get over the hump."

The Clippers nearly landed Brogdon from the Boston Celtics in a three-team deal involving the Washington Wizards in June, but that move, which would have notably sent Kristaps Porziņģis to Boston, fell apart, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Porziņģis ended up heading to the C's anyway in another three-teamer, and Brogdon is now a Portland Trail Blazer after begin traded in the Damian Lillard three-team deal.

On Sept. 29, Jared Weiss of The Athletic reported that the team still had interest in Brogdon before he was moved.

"The LA Clippers are reportedly in the hunt for the defensive stalwart, but they have continued to engage the Celtics in trade talks for Brogdon throughout the offseason, league sources told The Athletic under the condition of anonymity so they could speak freely," Weiss wrote.

Despite all that interest, it's abundantly clear that the Clippers want Harden, albeit at the right price. The sticking point appears to be L.A. guard/forward Terance Mann, who the 76ers want but the Clips don't want to part ways with.

"Despite the Sixers indicating that they would accept an offer of a Clippers' unprotected first-round pick, first-round pick swap, players to match the salaries and Mann, two people involved in the negotiations say Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank reiterated the team's stance that Mann would not be part of their offer," Sam Amick of The Athletic wrote on Oct. 18.

So it appears the season will begin with Harden, who has requested a trade from the 76ers, staying in Philadelphia for now.

Meanwhile, the Clippers will forge ahead with its roster as the team looks for its first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.