James Harden is finally joining the Los Angeles Clippers.
After requesting a trade in July and making it clear that his
preference was to join the Clippers, Harden is finally getting his
wish.
Early Tuesday morning, the Philadelphia 76ers agreed to send
Harden, P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrusev to the Clippers for Marcus
Morris, Robert Covington, Nicolas Batum, K.J. Martin, a 2028
unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks, a 2029 pick
swap and a protected 2026 first-round pick from the Oklahoma City
Thunder, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski
reported. Also, the Clippers are sending a 2027 first-round
pick swap to Oklahoma City. The Sixers will waive Danny Green as
part of the deal.
This is a strong return for Daryl Morey and the 76ers,
especially since the 34-year-old was disgruntled and no other team
was showing significant interest in acquiring Harden.
Now, the Sixers project to have as much as $65 million in cap
room next offseason. It’s also possible that Philly will look to
flip some of their assets to land a third star alongside Joel
Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
The Clippers are pushing their chips to the middle of the table
in hopes of competing for a championship with Kawhi Leonard, Paul
George, Russell Westbrook and Harden. Harden and Westbrook were
previously teammates on the Thunder and Houston Rockets.
It’s worth noting that Leonard, George and Harden could all hit
unrestricted free agency after this season; Leonard and George each
have a $48,787,676 player option, while Harden is on an expiring
contract.
Harden is a former Most Valuable Player and 10-time All-Star.
Last season, he averaged 21 points, 10.7 assists, 6.1 rebounds, 2.8
threes and 1.2 steals, while shooting 44.1% from the field, 38.5%
from three-point range and 86.7% from the free-throw line.
