The drawn out James Harden saga has reached its conclusion, with the 10-time All-Star guard traded from Philadelphia to the LA Clippers for an assortment of players and picks.
It ends a standoff dating back to June when Harden first asked to be traded amid friction with Sixers president Daryl Morey including the 34-year old calling Morey a “liar.”
“The war is over,” one source close to the situation told Yahoo Sports.
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So what does it all mean for Harden, the two teams involved and NBA at large? Does it influence the championship race?
Right now there’s more questions than anything in one of the more intriguing trade narratives in recent history.
Foxsports.com.au runs through the big questions that need answering in the fallout from the blockbuster move.
COULD PHILLY HAVE GOTTEN MORE?
In short, probably not, especially considering the Sixers essentially came away better from this deal than Portland did for Jrue Holiday.
Talks that have been on and off since July, Philly ultimately received Marcus Morris, Nic Batum, Robert Covington and KJ Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two-second round picks and a pick swap all tied to the Clippers and a 2026 protected first-round pick tied to OKC (worst of the Thunder’s three first-rounders).
The Thunder’s contribution netted them a 2027 first-round pick swap with the Clippers.
Confused yet?
Some might look at this deal on the surface and think the Sixers got unders for Harden, largely due to the fact that they didn’t get any significant player back in the package.
After all, we’re talking about a former MVP winner and multi-time All-Star, All-NBA player and scoring champion who featured in the NBA’s top 75 players of all-time.
Yet seemingly, there’s no obvious name that can come across and help the Sixers win now – and a team that’s priority is to do so.
The Sixers’ had reportedly longed for Terance Mann, who’s frankly far from star status, to be included in the deal, though the Clippers weren’t willing to oblige in a showing of how much Harden’s value has diminished.
“From everything that I’ve been told, this was not a package trade that Daryl Morey wanted. This was a trade that was made essentially by the Philadelphia 76ers ownership. They had told Daryl Morey to get a deal done now!,” senior NBA reporter Vince Goodwill said on the Ball Don’t Lie podcast.
The reality was that the Clippers were never going to get anything more than role players and picks for Harden.
For one, Harden has in recent years built a reputation of quitting on his teams, with the Clippers set to be his fourth side in as many seasons. He wanted out of both Brooklyn and Philadelphia after short stints at both stops.
There’s also at times been questions of Harden’s professionalism as a difficult personality for teams to manage. In a similar vein to Kyrie Irving (though to a lesser degree), there’s the added off-court drama and thus baggage that comes with Harden.
On court, he’s a ball dominant player that demands a big role on a team to be effective. At age 34, he really only fits in certain situations, and going through ever team in the league and there’s not many obvious landing spots.
He clearly doesn’t make sense for a rebuilding team, and those in contention either essentially don’t need a player like Harden to mess with their chemistry or are already settled in the backcourt.
Clippers smash the Spurs in L.A. | 00:48
There’s also his shortcomings in the playoffs over the years, where, despite having a 85-75 record in the post-season, Harden has never played in the NBA Finals.
All these factors surrounding a veteran player in his twilight years on a maximum $35 million expiring deal, which essentially makes him a one-season rental, and it’s understandable why it was largely the Clippers in the conversation (who themselves don’t make total sense).
So while only time will tell what happens from here, the Sixers seemingly did the best they could out of an ugly situation.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE SIXERS?
It leads to the next point – can Philadelphia, as constructed, contend for the title? Or could they look to make further moves?
This of course was a Philly team that finished third in the East last season with 54 wins and was considered one of the prime contenders despite falling considerably short in the playoffs.
While it seemingly came out of nowhere, some reports have stated the Sixers felt pressed to finally pull the trigger on a Harden trade after the team’s hot start to the season under the lead of breakout superstar Tyrese Maxey, who was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week and the franchise has gone all in on.
It could be argued this bought Philly more time with ensuring it makes the right trade, but it also created a greater urgency for the team to avoid anything that could tamper with its promising 2-1 start, with Harden the elephant in the room as he neared a return.
Harden was essentially a black hole in their roster until that happened, and regardless, there needed to be a resolution at some stage for the best of all parties (remind you of a recent similar situation?).
And yes, the Sixers didn’t get anything star player in return, but bring in pieces that can help them around periphery and round out Nick Nurse’s rotation.
“This is all about Philly in my mind. Philadelphia got better. Did they getter to the point where they’re looking Boston and Milwaukee in the eye? Probably not, they’re probably on that next tier. But to me, this is the third best team in the Eastern Conference,” former NBA player Tim Legler said on ESPN.
“Because of Joel Embiid and we are finally getting a taste of the ceiling of Tyrese Maxey. If you’re not watching Tyrese Maxey every night and thinking you are watching a star payer in the making, then you don’t really know the game, because that’s what he is.
“There’s another element to this. James Harden was a guy that dramatically affected Joel Embiid’s demeanour, body language and frustration … the black cloud has been lifted from the Sixers organisation and they’re moving forward with Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid.
“You’ve added supplemental parts that fit that roster better, I love this for Philly.”
Giving Maxey a proper runway to continue his ascension and keeping Embiid happy – and committed to the team – are clearly the two biggest priorities for the Sixers. They simply couldn’t to waste a season of reigning MVP Embiid in his prime.
They’ve likely achieved both those things and slightly improved with veteran role players plus picks to potentially use to target another star.
Indeed, Philadelphia will reportedly try and flip the picks to build a contender around Maxey and Embiid – or as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowki put it, go “star hunting” with their collection of assets – holding the type of capital Boston used to land Jrue Holiday.
According to Sports Illustrated, the Sixers could target Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine and Toronto Raptors’ OG Anunoby, though neither – nor is any other big name – currently considered to be on the trade table.
Also now with a host of expiring contracts – including all the players they acquired from the Clippers – the Sixers could have the most cap space of any team in the league next off-season.
Philly could have as much as $55.6 million in cap space in 2024, though it comes with an expiration date given Maxey is due for a max contract that would see his $13 million cap hold push out to around $40 million.
That comes ahead of a free agency class that will feature the likes of Pascal Siakam, Anunoby, Klay Thompson and DeMar DeRozan, while Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Jrue Holday could also join that list.
The timing of Maxey signing his deal could therefore be important if the Sixers do indeed try and land a big free agent.
ARE CLIPPERS LEGIT CONTENDERS … OR IS THIS A LOOMING DISASTER?
You can be glass half full or half empty on where this leaves the Clippers.
On one side of things, you have to appreciate the team’s willingness to improve by putting another star next to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George given the team is very much in a win-now window.
The Clippers went all in on this roster and hold little draft capital as a result, so why not swing for the fences?
We’ve frankly rarely even seen this team healthy including in the playoffs, so the possibility of Leonard and George staying fit when it matters and Harden coming into that mix is appealing.
Beyond their two superstars, the Clippers have long lacked other notable contributors in the Leonard-George era, with the approach of building the team out with depth largely not working.
So while Harden mightn’t be the most obvious fit given he’s a third ball dominant star, the Clippers did need more useful and reliable pieces and their current squad likely wasn’t going to contend with the likes of Denver, Phoenix and the Lakers.
For all the negative commentary surrounding Harden, he ranks top 50 in all-time winning percentage at 65.10 per cent (651-349), having averaged 24.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and seven assists across his career.
He’s also consistently led his teams to deep enough playoff runs, even if they’ve never really challenged.
“The Clippers never appeared to waver much in their position either. Los Angeles wanted Harden. It wanted a creator and connective passer who could give Leonard and George their greatest chance to compete for a title since the duo teamed up in July 2019,” Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer.
“The front office wanted a clear ceiling-raiser and a pure talent play, no matter the cost on the cap sheet, which holds the upside necessary to battle Nikola Jokić or Phoenix’s three-headed monster or anyone else.
“It’s a pure zig from last season’s build, when the Clippers went in on depth and saw their 2022-23 effort pale in comparison to the true titans of the Western Conference.”
Then there’s the viewpoint of: how is this going to work!? It’s almost like something straight out of a movie.
The Clippers already have an ageing core of Leonard (32 years old), George (33) and Russell Westbrook (34) and have added the 34-year old Harden into the mix.
Some thought they’d be best served cutting bait and trading Leonard and George while they could get something in return, but they’ve instead gone in the complete opposite direction.
Again, adding a third superstar who requires the ball is also a peculiar move given the team was already loaded with guards and wings, so the dynamic of this team is a little confusing.
Plus what does this mean for Westbrook who’d taken over as the starting point guard in the second half of last season?
The Clippers are of course opening their new area in 2024, so there would’ve been commercial motivation to selling something sexy to fans.
But there is a scenario where all four of their stars – Leonard, George, Harden and Westbrook – leave for nothing next off-season given they’re all eligible to become free agents.
Leonard, George and Westbrook all have player options for the 2024/25 season they could yet opt into, while Harden will definitely be a free agent – with the quartet combing for $137 million (AUD $216m) in salary.
That’d nothing short of a disaster for a team that already has one of, if not the, worst future draft hand of any in the NBA.
WHY DID OKC GET INVOLVED?
Just like how the Clippers didn’t want to give up Mann, the Sixers were adamant on getting another first-round pick in the deal.
But it wasn’t going to come from the Clippers, so a third party had to get involved … enter OKC.
As part of the trade, the Thunder will give up the worst of their three first-round picks in 2026 – their own, the Clippers’ or Houston’s.
In return, the Thunder have the right to swap first rounders with the Clippers in 2027.
So if you’re a Thunder fan, you’d be cheering loudly for a Clippers self destruction (as if getting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from them wasn’t enough).
As Thunder beat writer Brandon Rahbar noted on X, the team’s core (if still intact) of Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams would by then all be entering their primes, while the Clippers’ current stars would be in their late 30s.
“OKC Trading a likely low pick for the chance of huge upside.”
Indeed, that pick swap could be anything in another shrewd play from Thunder general manager Sam Presti amid the team’s already unprecedented collection of draft selections.
Of course, there’s a scenario where all the Clippers stars re-sign on mega extensions this off-season and they’re a force in the coming years and thus that pick swap having little pay off.
But it’s the possibly of opening up a big win down the road – for very little cost – that is the clever stroke of genius here. It’s a luxury OKC, armed with a war chest of draft picks, could afford.
“Very few NBA teams are willing to give away the certainty of a first-round pick for the mystery of a swap four years down the line. The Thunder have so many picks that they can afford to take such chances. It might not pay off, but imagine how terrifying it will be for the league if a Thunder team at the absolute peak of its powers in 2027 is able to add another top draft pick,” CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn wrote.
“That is the flexibility Presti has given himself by accumulating all of these picks. Many of them will amount to little, but when weaponised properly, they can be used to do effectively anything. They can get him players. They can get him cap relief. And now, as we‘re seeing, they can even get him better picks down the line as well.”
