Harden was moved with forwards PJ Tucker and Filip Petrusev to Los Angeles, in exchange for forwards Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, Kenyon Martin Jr., and a host of draft picks.
Even the Oklahoma City Thunder had to get involved, which is where Harden started his NBA career in 2009. The Thunder sent a 2026 unprotected first round pick to Philadelphia, while gaining a 2027 first-round pick swap with the Clippers.
Immediately fans start thinking this is General Manager Trent Redden trying to form a proverbial All-Star team like the Lakers did in 2003. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal were already in place when the Lakers went out to add Gary Payton and Karl Malone. The Lakers won the Pacific Division, and were dominated in the NBA Finals by the Detroit Pistons.
The Clippers will run out Harden, former two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard (32), eight-time All-Star Paul George (33), and his one-time Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook (who turns 35 on November 12). Take into account that Westbrook took a massive pay cut to join the Clippers, and the acquisition of Harden now places the team nearly $13 million over the practical salary cap. Only the Golden State Warriors are further into “Cap Hell,” being more than $25 million into the red.
George and Leonard are each owed $45.6 million this season, and Harden commands $35.6 million.
Both the Clippers and Sixers were top-6 teams in their respective conferences a season ago. The Sixers (54-28 in 2022-23) lost to Boston in the second round, while the Clippers (44-38) went out in the first round against Phoenix.
Philadelphia now has shed themselves of another head case who obviously did not want to be there in the first place. Just two years ago, the Sixers ran out a “big three” of Harden, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. Once the Sixers were eliminated from the 2021 playoffs, Simmons requested a trade, which was granted just days into the start of the 2021-22 season.
The similarities with the Simmons and Harden trades grew eerily similar, the longer the spectacle drew out. Simmons held out during training camp, and was thrown out of practice by then-head coach Doc Rivers shortly after his return. After leaving for 10 days with an excused absence, Harden was denied access to the team flight shortly after his return last Wednesday.
Harden is another aging veteran taking up far too much salary, where George and Leonard have been riddled with injuries the past few seasons. Just a few seasons ago, these were four of the best players in the league, all while being on different teams. My how times change once they have all come together.
As far as Philadelphia is concerned, the talk is the expiring contracts the Sixers took on should allow them to clear $50-65 million in time for next summer. This would be to land a high-profile free agent target to be paired with Embiid, who is the reigning league MVP. The question I have is not who the Sixers will bring in, but what in their right mind thinks that Embiid is not going to ask to be moved later this season?
I have been predicting the New York Knicks as the trade partner for the past several months, for the record...
If Philadelphia wanted to do a shorter rebuild, there would already be another significant piece in place for Embiid to work with. Instead, he appears to be the next superstar to be moved, while Harden and the Clippers will still be the little brother in Los Angeles, even after moving into their new arena away from the Lakers after this season.
-JC24