The long-awaited James Harden trade has finally happened. It came early Tuesday morning in Philadelphia and late Monday night in Los Angeles.
But the former NBA MVP is headed from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Los Angeles Clippers in the latest blockbuster to potentially reshape the Association.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the news, indicating that the two sides have come to terms on an agreement.
Harden, 34, had requested a trade from the 76ers this past summer. He then took that to a whole new level in August when the 10-time All-Star indicated that he would never suit up again for the 76ers as long as front office head Daryl Morey was with the organization.
“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of. Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,” James Harden said during an Adidas event in China this past August.
Since then, Harden stayed away from the 76ers’ organization in the lead up to the start of the regular season last week. When he attempted to board a plane on a road trip to Milwaukee for the opener against the Bucks, team security personnel stopped him.
Despite all of this, Harden was expected to return to practice for the 76ers on Tuesday. Obviously, that’s now no longer in the cards. The backdrop here were rumors indicating that the Los Angeles Clippers had ended trade talks with Philadelphia for Harden. That’s also obviously no longer the case.
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As for what is headed back to Philadelphia in the trade, here is a break down of the trade.
Details of James Harden trade to the Los Angeles Clippers
- Philadelphia 76ers get: Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, KJ Martin, multiple draft picks, pick swap
- Los Angeles Clippers get: James Harden, P.J. Tucker
It’s not yet known what picks are headed back to Philadelphia in this blockbuster. But the team does acquire three rotational pieces to help the likes of Joel Embiid and young rising star Tyrese Maxey. With Harden out, Maxey is averaging 30.3 points on 56% shooting from distance over the course of the first three games of the season.
As for the Clippers, they now add another future Hall of Famer to go with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard as the team looks to keep its championship window open.