Ranking James Harden Trade Package Against Latest NBA Star Deals
Just after 2 a.m. ET on Halloween, the Philadelphia 76ers agreed to trade James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. He's the eighth big-name player making over $30 million in 2023-24 to be traded since the calendar flipped to 2023.
Now that the dust has mostly settled on all of those dealsāalthough the 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers both seem primed to make a few more movesāit's time to rank the trade packages attached to each.
The order is determined through the perspective of the team unloading the big name. So, whichever team received the best combination of players and assets for its superstar will ascend to the top of the list.
8. Kristaps PorziÅÄ£is to the Celtics
1 of 8
Washington Wizards Received: Tyus Jones, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala and a 2023 second-round pick
The Wizards later traded the second-round pick that they received for Kristaps PorziÅÄ£is for two future second-rounders. That might make the trade look a little better now, but that doesn't change the fact that he didn't command a single first-round pick.
That certainly impacts his placement on this list, but the Wizards did get a starting-level point guard out of the deal in Tyus Jones. Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala have both logged minutes for the team, too.
The context here is important, though. Washington was clearly ready for a teardown. Given PorziÅÄ£is' injury issues over the years, getting a first for him may have been a stretch.
The Wizards simply wanted to turn the page on the previous era, and they seemingly didn't have the time or patience for a bidding war that may have driven this price up.
7. Kyrie Irving to the Mavericks
2 of 8
Brooklyn Nets Received: Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2027 second-round pick from Dallas, a 2029 first-round pick from Dallas and a 2029 second-round pick from Dallas
Kyrie Irving has had his issues with availability and reliability over the years, which clearly limited his value ahead of the 2023 trade deadline.
But the Dallas Mavericks needed a legitimate star to pair with Luka DonÄiÄ, which made them more willing to part with draft capital than other potential suitors may have been.
Given the rapidly deteriorating situation in Brooklyn, which eventually moved both Irving and Kevin Durant, emerging with two starting-caliber (or at least high-bench-level) players, a first-round pick and two seconds for the famously enigmatic Irving was a win.
6. Chris Paul to the Warriors
3 of 8
Washington Wizards Received: Jordan Poole, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Ryan Rollins, a 2030 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick
That 2030 first-round pick is top-20 protected, so it may not have a ton of value in the end. But this package as a whole is solid.
Chris Paul is 38 years old and has started to decline a bit over recent years. But he still has the kind of leadership and experience that the Golden State Warriors' bench needed. That's why they gave up a 24-year-old coming off a 20-point-per-game season in Poole, two young prospects in Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins and multiple draft assets.
As part of their summer-long, overarching rebuild, this deal was pretty easy to understand from the Wizards' perspective.
5. Bradley Beal to the Suns
4 of 8
Washington Wizards Received: Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, Bilal Coulibaly, four first-round pick swaps and six second-round picks
The Washington Wizards didn't add any first-rounders in this deal, but swaps can have some value. It doesn't mean they will (Washington's own picks remaining better than the Phoenix Suns' wouldn't shock anyone), but the Wizards at least gave themselves some chances to improve first-round positioning in the future.
Any individual second-round pick is probably even more of a shot in the dark than that.
But when you put all that togetherāfour first-round swaps and six secondsāthis haul starts to look pretty good.
Add to that the fact that they were able to take Bilal Coulibaly with a first in this past summer's draft and eventually re-route CP3 for Poole and everything else mentioned above, and this entire deal is better than you may have realized when it first broke.
Bradley Beal's trade value was presumably quite limited by the fact that he had a no-trade clause, so Washington getting as much as it did was a win.
4. Jrue Holiday to the Celtics
5 of 8
Portland Trail Blazers Received: Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams III, a 2024 first-round pick from Golden State and a 2029 first-round pick from Boston
There's an argument to combine this return with what the Portland Trail Blazers received for Damian Lillard since that's how they acquired Jrue Holiday. If you look at it from that perspective, it's easy to imagine this package getting even bigger.
Malcolm Brogdon, a soon-to-be-31-year-old guard coming off a Sixth Man of the Year campaign, doesn't fit Portland's rebuilding timeline. He's good enough to command real value in a trade down the road.
If (when?) the Blazers move him, they'll likely have more picks to add to this stash. Robert Williams III could probably fetch something as well, although he may be young enough to justify keeping.
But even on its own, this is a solid return for the Blazers. They picked up two high-level rotation players from a title contender and two first-rounders for a 33-year-old guard who's still an All-Star contender but is likely out of his prime.
3. James Harden to the Clippers
6 of 8
Philadelphia 76ers Received: Marcus Morris Sr., Robert Covington, Nicolas Batum, Kenyon Martin Jr., a 2024 second-round pick from L.A. Clippers, a 2026 first-round pick from OKC, HOU or LAC, a 2028 first-round pick from L.A. Clippers, a 2029 first-round pick swap from L.A. Clippers and a 2029 second-round pick from L.A. Clippers
The Sixers securing multiple first-round picks for Harden, given the situation he'd put them in, seems almost absurd.
To recap, Harden opted into the final year of his contract, which put him on an expiring deal. Shortly after that, he requested a trade. When that request wasn't honored quickly enough, he publicly called team president Daryl Morey a liar. His attendance at training camp was sporadic, at best. He's 34 years old. He's now quit on each of his last three teams, and he did that in the space of two years.
With Los Angeles as seemingly the only viable suitor, and Harden seemingly doing everything he could to crater his own trade value, this haul is wild.
Perhaps, though, the Clippers were wary of some team unexpectedly swooping in the way the Bucks did to prevent the Miami Heat from landing Damian Lillard (the foregone conclusion team in that scenario).
Maybe they're just this excited about the addition of Harden's playmaking that they're able to ignore all of the potential red flags.
Whatever the motivation, they made it happen and paid a pretty penny to do so.
2. Damian Lillard to the Bucks
7 of 8
Portland Trail Blazers Received: Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, Toumani Camara, a 2029 first-round pick from Milwaukee, a 2028 first-round pick swap from Milwaukee and a 2030 first-round pick swap from Milwaukee
You can't talk about this return without mentioning the Holiday deal. When you compound this return with what the Blazers got for Jrue, it looks like an absolute no-brainer.
Of course, it hurts to lose Lillard. He's one of the two or three greatest players in the history of the franchise, but the last couple of seasons made it clear Portland's window to contend with him was shut. Either that, or the front office clearly couldn't build a legitimate contender around him.
Replacing him with all the draft capital the Blazers got, embracing a rebuilding season that will give Scoot Henderson and Deandre Ayton plenty of learning opportunities and still having the option to move Brogdon and Williams was the right way to go.
And this still-growing return could establish a new blueprint for superstar trades. You don't have to get everything you need for the big name in one move.
1. Kevin Durant to the Suns
8 of 8
Brooklyn Nets Received: Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Juan Pablo Vaulet, a 2023 first-round pick from Phoenix, a 2025 first-round pick from Phoenix, a 2027 first-round pick from Phoenix, a 2028 first-round pick swap from Phoenix, a 2028 second-round pick from Milwaukee, a 2029 first-round pick from Phoenix and a 2029 second-round pick from Milwaukee
That is a ton of draft capital for an oft-injured forward who was 34 at the time of the deal.
All those picks sort of speak for themselves, but it's worth noting that Kevin Durant and Beal are both post-prime and aren't likely to be in Phoenix when those later picks start to convey. Devin Booker may be around and keeping them in the middle or end of the first round, but that's certainly not guaranteed either.
The Nets could also combine or repurpose some or all of the above to get back into the trade market if the right opportunity arises. This trade gave them loads of flexibility.
But what truly pushes this package to the top of the list is the players Brooklyn received. Cameron Johnson is a more-than-helpful three-and-D role player, and Mikal Bridges is good enough to keep the Nets competitive (even if he's currently miscast as a No. 1 option).
After the deal, then-26-year-old Bridges averaged 26.1 points for Brooklyn.
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=480 "Sports Betting Arrests Basketball")
