James Harden Trade Rumors: Clippers 'Pausing' Talks with 76ers amid Start of Season

Stop us if you've heard this one before—the Los Angeles Clippers are reportedly no longer engaging with the Philadelphia 76ers in trade talks for James Harden.

"At least for the foreseeable future, the Clippers are stepping back from these trade talks about Harden," ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported during Wednesday's NBA Countdown. "They are essentially pausing them. They have talked with Philadelphia for months about a trade. They have made their best offer."

"The Clippers may revisit this at some point," he added. "But they know they're the only bidder for Harden. They're the only team that's made a serious offer. They don't want to bid against themselves."

Let's answer the question that every single person who at least marginally engages with the NBA is wondering at this point—how does all of this finally, mercifully end?

The first scenario is that the Sixers grow weary of Harden's shenanigans—given his history of forcing trades, more shenanigans are definitely to follow—and take whatever deal is on the table from the Clippers.

That feels unlikely.

Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey played the long game with Ben Simmons before trading him for Harden two years ago. He seemingly has an appetite for these uncomfortable stand-offs, and the Sixers already handled Harden's decision to stay away from practice during the preseason by keeping him in Philly during the team's road trip to start the season.

The next scenario is another team entering the running for Harden. This is unlikely on two fronts.

One, Harden is a 34-year-old point guard who has arguably lost a step and is in the final year of his contract. If he thought there was a wide market for his services, he wouldn't have opted into his player option and instead would have sought a major deal in free agency.

Two, he has expressed a desire to play for the Clippers. So any non-Clippers team acquiring him in a trade risks angering him and dealing with the same scenario the Sixers currently find themselves in, all while giving up assets for a player who may just leave in free agency next summer anyway.

Now, if Harden's own appetite for this stand-off starts to diminish and he expresses a willingness to play for a team other than the Clippers, this becomes a more feasible possibility. For now, however, it's a long shot.

And finally, the most—and potentially only—realistic possibility: The Clippers deal with major injuries or struggle to start the season, decide they don't want to risk the year getting away from them and decide to meet Philadelphia's valuation of Harden.

ESPN's Zach Lowe reported on his most recent Lowe Post podcast (h/t RealGM Wiretap) that the Clippers would rather acquire Harden than another veteran point guard who can likely be had in a trade, Malcolm Brogdon, and that there is potentially some concern that the team is another piece away from being true title contenders.

So there might still be a rainbow at the end of this storm of rumors. Just not yet.