James Harden Says 'You Don't Understand' How Excited He is After Trade to Clippers

There's no one more excited for the trade that sent James Harden from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Los Angeles Clippers than the three-time scoring champion himself.

"You don't understand," Harden told reporters Tuesday when asked how excited he is to be in Los Angeles, per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk.

The 76ers sent Harden, P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrusev to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night in exchange for Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, KJ Martin and multiple draft picks.

Harden had been clamoring for a trade to the Clippers since he requested a move from the Sixers in June when he picked up his player option for 2023-24.

The 34-year-old reiterated his trade request to Daryl Morey in July and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported a month later that the veteran was unhappy with the 76ers president of basketball operations "over the lack of a long-term maximum-level contract offer."

Harden went as far as to publicly call out Morey while he was waiting to be traded, referring to him as a "liar" on multiple occasions, adding that he "will never be a part of an organization that he's a part of."

The 10-time All-Star confirmed earlier this month that his relationship with Morey was beyond repair, and The Athletic and Stadium's Shams Charania reported Tuesday that the owners of the Sixers and Clippers had to interject to "iron out the trade" for Harden.

Now that he's in L.A., Harden will join a star-studded lineup that also includes Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook. If they can all stay healthy, they should be among the top teams to come out of the Western Conference.

The Clippers have the fifth-best odds to win the NBA Finals at +1300, per FanDuel Sportsbook. The only teams with better odds are the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns.

L.A. entered Tuesday's game against the Orlando Magic with a 2-1 record. It's unclear when Harden will make his debut.

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