76ers Deal James Harden: After more than four months, James Harden’s trade to the Philadelphia 76ers was eventually approved.
Just after two in the morning on the East Coast, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski announced that the 76ers deal James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers. Harden has always wanted to play for this franchise, but negotiations between the two teams broke down when The Beard simultaneously chose to accept his $35.6 million salary for 2023–24 and made demands for a trade.
But the Harden Era in Philadelphia is officially gone after four turbulent months that included Harden labelling Sixers president Daryl Morey a “liar” in China, Harden leaving the club inexplicably right before the season, and security stopping Harden from boarding the team jet for their road trip.
You might also be interested in reading this: Chris Paul makes the NBA record for most game starts
In February 2022, Harden asked for a trade, and Philadelphia made the transaction. That came 13 months after Harden asked the Houston Rockets for a trade, at which point Brooklyn made a deal for him. Harden submitted his transfer request 16 months ahead of schedule this time, possibly as a result of the Rockets’ inability to sign him and the 76ers’ refusal to give him the maximum deal extension.
Harden, who has been a teammate in Houston and Oklahoma City, will now be joining Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook in his home city of Los Angeles. The four seasoned former All-Stars for the Clippers are in the last year of their contracts, which means that this summer will provide some fascinating choices as the team gets ready to move into the Intuit Dome, their new venue, in the fall.
In addition, as part of the transaction, the Clippers get veteran P.J. Tucker, along with the $22.6 million that is still owed on his contract.
The 22-year-old KJ Martin, who the Clippers acquired earlier in the summer, will join the Sixers along with veterans Marcus Morris, Nic Batum, and Robert Covington, all of whom have contracts that are about to expire. Before playing with the Sixers for more than four seasons from 2014 to 2019, Covington started his career with Morey’s Rockets.
Philadelphia maintains Morey’s strategy to free up a tonne of cap space this summer while also adding additional picks and making a trade. Terance Mann, who was considered the cornerstone of a Harden trade for Philadelphia, and wing scorer Norman Powell are still with the Clippers.
Although Harden is a ten-time All-Star and the 2018 league MVP, his previous few seasons have been marred by postseason setbacks and him pushing his way off teams. Harden has averaged five turnovers and shot fewer than 25 per cent from three-point range in his previous six years of postseason elimination games. In the Sixers’ final two games against Boston last season, he shot 7-for-27 and 1-for-11 from outside the arc, scoring an average of just 10 points.
In any case, James Harden will join the Clippers’ ageing, fragile, yet potent senior core. The best part for the Clippers is that Harden has no time to become irate and seek a trade before February because the deal was completed in late October. But Harden is a man who could pull it off if anyone.
