After months literally filled with a deluge of petty theatrics and lashing outs, the Philadelphia 76ers have finally found a resolution to the seemingly interminable James Harden saga early in the season.
As reported, the 76ers are trading Harden to the LA Clippers for a package filled with veterans on expiring deals and draft compensation. This came to fruition after a continuum of push and pull from both front offices, as the Clippers have previously offered a return deemed too minuscule and were even rumored to have pulled out of the no-man sweepstakes just recently.
The Philadelphia 76ers finally trade James Harden to the LA Clippers in this eight-player deal
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first broke the news of this semi-blockbuster trade, which will include eight players moving to new clubs alongside some draft capital to be specified later on.
"Philadelphia 76ers receive: Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, KJ Martin, unprotected 2028 First-Round Pick (from LAC), future First-Round Pick Swap (from LAC), two future Second-Round Picks, and future First-Round Pick (via third team, TBD) LA Clippers receive: James Harden, PJ Tucker, and Filip Petrusev"
That was quite the exhausting read on a trade between two teams — at least for now with the details still hazy — but now that the news is out, how did both the 76ers and Clippers fare in this mega trade?
The 76ers just fleeced the Clippers big time
The 76ers approached the season knowing fully well that they may have to face the possibility of sheltering James Harden for the entire year nary a legitimate suitor outside of, well, the LA Clippers — a franchise that seemed resolute on not bidding against themselves at all costs even in their boisterous attempt to land the All-Star and an even louder interjection to win a championship after years of ghastly playoff exits.
Well, it seems like the Clippers only ever wanted Terance Mann to stay put notwithstanding the magnitude of any bridging the gap maneuver, sending three veterans who can help the 76ers, a young wing who can stay on the roster beyond this year, two future first-round picks, a pick swap, and two second-rounders to sweeten a pot already loaded with saccharides.
Daryl Morey has been quite the name lately — of the infamous variant — but this is a heck of a package to accrue for a star on an expiring deal who has lost all leverage, a solid, yet replaceable and old role player, and an enigmatic prospect who hasn’t even logged a minute in the NBA.
Morris, Batum, and Covington are all on expiring deals and profile as good fits for the 76ers with the added bonus of potentially becoming honey traps for the front office to lure in an asset later on before the trade deadline. Martin is a nice young piece who can be re-signed for cheap next year.
Nevertheless, that Philadelphia managed to score the torrent of draft capital they heisted is a tremendous move by the 76ers’ decision-makers. Even better, the franchise just got a boost in future-proofing while remaining relevant, if not more, in the title conversation.
Grade: A+++
Absolutely championship or bust for the Clippers this season, it seems
The Russell Westbrook experience has been getting a lot of positive momentum since the playoffs last season and the LA Clippers have been healthy to start the campaign. As long as those statements hold true, it is indisputable that they have more than just participative power in the championship conversation this season.
But of course, a franchise with inherent inferiority complex due to its lack of purposeful banners is not satisfied with having its chances completely depend on what ifs. So, they decided to go all-in this year — like an annual tradition — and grabbed Harden from a 76ers franchise dying to have someone initiate the legerdemain.
Good for LA. However, how they did it was…absolutely peculiar, but tremendously delightful for the Sixer fan. The Clippers gatekept Terance Mann, a role player in his prime, but decided that the robust draft capital they just gifted the 76ers is the more prudent undertaking when Philly would have been more than astounded at the prospect of having Mann. Just Mann.
As if that’s enough, LA sapped its prized forward rotation because of PJ Tucker and their puzzling desperation to also keep Norman Powell — whose role Harden will cannibalize anyway. Nevertheless, the Leonard-George-Westbrook triumvirate needed smoothening out. That sojourn started off on a good note, so naturally, it would be very conducive to adding a fourth ball-dominant guard, right? Precedence in the NBA says that’s too many mouths to feed.
Anyway, if the LA Clippers fail to win the championship season with basically their entire volley of stars approaching free agency and the franchise salvaging almost all its draft picks, this would be an all-time mistake. After all, there was an easier route widely available to them in the first place.
Grade: F