TRADE: James Harden to the Clippers

[Street Hunger]

The Sixers are trading James Harden to the Clippers, per Woj!

[Axe]

Oh amazeballs. Loney may come out anytime now.

[SATAN]

The Philadelphia 76ers are trading James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The move ends a saga that began in June, when Harden was an impending free agent. Once it became clear that the Houston Rockets preferred Fred VanVleet with their maximum cap space, Harden had nowhere to go and was forced to opt into the final year of his deal with the understanding that 76ers general manager Daryl Morey would eventually trade him.

That trade came slower than Harden had wanted, and in August, Harden responded by saying at a camp in China that "Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he's a part of." Harden ultimately reported to 76ers camp, but now, he gets the trade he seeks, and, in the process, positions himself for the contract Philadelphia was not ready to give him.

Rather than extending Harden for the long haul, Philadelphia is planning to generate max cap space in the summer of 2024. To that end, they also have not extended young star Tyrese Maxey, though they will be able to retain him next offseason as a restricted free agent without significantly affecting their cap space. The Clippers, on the other hand, are so far above the salary cap that they almost have to retain Harden beyond the season using his Bird Rights. They would have no means of replacing his salary slot if he were to leave for nothing, and the new CBA makes it significantly harder to sign-and-trade him elsewhere.

Of course, the Clippers wouldn't be making this trade if they didn't expect to keep Harden. Ever since they landed Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in the 2019 offseason, they've sought a traditional point guard to make their lives easier on offense. They've tried just about every low-end option from Reggie Jackson to Rajon Rondo to Russell Westbrook, but nobody has worked. Harden, who led the NBA in assists last season, is immediately the best playmaker the Leonard-George duo has ever had, and with the Clippers set to open a new arena in time for the 2024-25 season, they could now potentially bring this star trio into their new building.

But the 2024-25 season is a year away. The goal is to win the championship right now. With Harden, the Clippers are right back in the mix for the Western Conference crown. The 76ers, meanwhile, will now attempt to regroup and reload before reigning MVP Joel Embiid starts to get antsy. Neither Harden nor Simmons were suitable championship co-stars for Embiid, and now, it's up to Morey to get it right on the third try.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/j...rs-per-report/

Does Kawit need a super team?

[Axe]

They should fire Lue now if they want a good chance at a title.

[SATAN]

My thread got deleted and my comment was edited within the blink of an eye...Very interesting.........

[coin24]

They really need a decent coach now..

[insidehoops]

My thread got deleted and my comment was edited within the blink of an eye...Very interesting.........

I'm awake. Biggest NBA news in a month.

[L.Kizzle]

I have a feeling someone is leaving ... PG or Leonard.

[SATAN]

I'm awake. Biggest NBA news in a month.

[Axe]

I'm awake. Biggest NBA news in a month.

[eliteballer]

Oh Me Oh My.

[fourkicks44]

Great news. I am super happy with this trade, Batum will be helpful and a good swap for Tucker. I'm excited to have Covington back home where he belongs.

The only sad news is Danny Green gets cut to open a roster spot. A great culture guy and locker room presesence.

[Akeem34TheDream]

Nice. Sixers are contenders once again and Clippers will be interesting to watch.

[Im Still Ballin]

Batum and Covington are nice rotation players.

[NBAGOAT]

Wondering if Sixers will trade for a star pre deadline or wait for free agency when Tobias is off the books and they’ll have 2 max slots. Free agency class isn’t good however think headliner is siakam. Maxey looks like he could make the all star team this year so embiid and 2 all star perimeter scorers isn’t best team in league but has a decent chance.

As for clippers they had to do this imo. Not a super team with kawhis knees but technically they have 3 all-nba guys with better depth than all the other contenders