3 Instant Reactions to Rumored James Harden Trade between Clippers and 76ers
For the third time in less than three calendar years, James Harden has gotten his wish and forced a trade out of his current situation.
The 76ers traded Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers early Tuesday morning in a blockbuster that will send Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, KJ Martin, a protected 2026 first-round pick via the Oklahoma City Thunder, a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks and a 2029 pick swap to Philadelphia, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrusev will also be heading to the Clippers.
The trade ends four months worth of rumors and provides an ugly end to the decade-long relationship between Harden and Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey. Harden requested a trade in June amid frustration with the lack of urgency from Morey to offer him a long-term contract.
The subsequent months saw Harden call Morey a "liar" in a promotional appearance in China, resulting in $100,000 fine, and then liken their relationship to a marriage while refusing to call Morey by name.
"Me and the front office had a very, very good relationship for a decade," Harden said earlier this month. "There was constant communication, you know what I mean? There was no communication once we lost [to the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 2023 playoffs]."
With the latest Harden drama finally behind us, let's take a look at what this deal means for both teams moving forward.
The Sixers Are All-in on Tyrese Maxey
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The Sixers clearly believe Joel Embiid's co-star is already on the roster. The Clippers' offer is nothing impressive for a player of Harden's caliber and is a carbon copy of essentially what's been on the table for months.
The only reason this trade happened now is that the play of Tyrese Maxey made it untenable for Harden to return.
Maxey is seemingly in the midst of a star turn, averaging 30.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists in the first three games of the 2023-24 season. He's blossomed taking the reins as the Sixers' lead ball-handler, aggressively attacking the rim and knocking down threes at an unsustainably high 56.0 percent rate.
There was no way to properly integrate Harden back into the fold without Maxey taking a backseat. At this point in his career, Harden is a point guard first and a scorer second. Taking Maxey off the ball for a player who doesn't even want to be there was a nonstarter at this point.
The Sixers will need Maxey to continue playing at an All-Star level to have a chance to compete in the East, but at the very least, he's shown himself capable of being the long-term solution at the 1.
The Clock Is Ticking for the Sixers Landing a Third Star
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Daryl Morey has precisely eight months to justify this whole Harden fiasco.
The Sixers' haul for Harden was a collection of names you've heard of but are largely numbers on a spreadsheet for Morey. Marcus Morris ($17.1 million), Robert Covington ($11.7 million), Nicolas Batum ($11.7 million) and KJ Martin all have contracts that expire after this season and almost certainly have no long-term future in Philadelphia.
Morey took this particular haul because it allows the Sixers to add depth for this season while maintaining their cap flexibility going into next summer. Philadelphia could have as much as $55.6 million in cap space in 2024, but that room has an expiration date.
Maxey is due a max contract next summer that will take his cap hold from $13 million to pushing $40 million. Embiid and Maxey will account for $90-plus million on the cap for the foreseeable future, so Maxey's new deal has to be timed to be signed after the Sixers make a splash in free agency.
Wojnarowski reported Morey's plan is to go "star hunting" with the Sixers' collection of assets.
The major names on the market this offseason leave a little to be desired. LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are near-locks to remain with their respective Los Angeles franchises, and Jrue Holiday (Boston Celtics) and Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors) are also slam dunks to remain where they're at.
That leaves the Sixers settling for one of the two Toronto Raptors free agents, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, as their top options. Siakam turns 30 in April and has topped out in that awkward stage where he's a very good player but not one capable of being a true lead star. Anunoby has flashed potential to be more than a 3-and-D role player, but he's seven years into his NBA career and has never done it consistently.
The Sixers' best bet may be taking their Harden haul and adding in a couple more pieces to find their own disgruntled star ahead of next summer, but that will have to wait. The players acquired for Harden can't be immediately repackaged in a trade, meaning the Sixers will have to wait until closer to February's deadline.
There are also no obvious targets for the Sixers given it's early in the season and teams are still in their feeling-out period. Regardless, there is money burning a hole in Morey's pocket and the Sixers will have to act fast.
The Clippers Had to Make This Trade but Have a Potential Westbrook Problem
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The Clippers had to make this trade. They acquired an All-Star who led the NBA in assists last season for a baloney sandwich. It's the type of trade that, if attempted in 2K, your PS5 would have spontaneously caught on fire.
Harden torpedoed his value to the point the Clippers—and the Clippers' underwhelming offer—were Morey's only option to end this saga.
Now comes the hard part.
Harden will be joining a Clippers team that's 2-1 featuring a fellow former MVP in Russell Westbrook who is playing the most unselfish basketball of his career. Westbrook has averaged 11.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists through three games while shooting 60 percent from the floor. This follows the 21-game stretch from last season that saw Westbrook significantly increase his efficiency from the moment he joined the Clippers.
This is a version of Westbrook that finally appears willing to play within himself, take a backseat and pick his spots.
It just remains to be seen whether that will continue now that Westbrook will assuredly be shifting back to a bench role. After starting each of his first 24 games as a Clippers, Westbrook will shift to a reserve role where he never looked comfortable last season with the Lakers.
Westbrook signed a contract that pays him just $3.8 million this season in part because he felt comfortable with the Clippers and his role.
There's no question the Clippers made the right decision. At this point in their careers, Harden is the far superior player and will be motivated with free agency lingering next summer. If healthy, the Clippers' trio of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Harden ranks right behind the Phoenix Suns' Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal as the best in basketball. Some might even take a healthy version of Leonard, George and Harden given the former two's defensive prowess.
That said, this isn't going to be a completely seamless transition.
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