Ex-Clippers Playoff Hero ‘Most Desirable’ Player Sixers Can Land in James Harden Trade

Getty A former postseason hero for the Los Angeles Clippers was called the Philadelphia 76ers' "most desirable rotation player" in a James Harden trade

Former Los Angeles Clippers playoff hero Terance Mann — who scored 39 points on 7/10 shooting from the three-point line in Game 6 of the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Utah Jazz — would be the “most desirable rotation player” the Philadelphia 76ers can acquire in a James Harden trade according to Liberty Ballers’ Dave Early.

“As the Sixers navigate the James Harden trade request, it’s beginning to sound more and more like striking a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, Harden’s preferred landing spot, may not be simple,” Early prefaced before saying, “Clips’ wing Terance Mann figures to be the most desirable rotation player the Sixers could get back in that deal, but the Clips have thus far sounded reluctant to part with any ‘real stuff.'”

Because of the Clippers’ trade stance in any Harden scenario, Early writes, the Sixers’ front office could have an interest in Chicago Bulls wing Zach LaVine.

“So Morey may be checking the temperature on LaVine as well,” Early wrote.

Sixers Can Land Zach LaVine in Larger Damian Lillard Trade

Early believes the Sixers could land LaVine in a larger multi-team deal involving disgruntled Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard — whose insistence to only be moved to the Miami Heat is keeping the league’s offseason in a holding pattern — or Harden.

“The respective Harden and Damian Lillard situations seem to have the league on pause for a bit,” Early prefaced before saying, “Either one changing teams could potentially spark some dominos for other moves to be made around the league. One might guess that Chicago is at least considering offloading LaVine’s major contract by playing facilitator in the grand (potentially multi-team) Lillard sweepstakes; albeit not at the bargain basement prices we saw Bradley Beal and Jordan Poole go for.”

NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson reported that LaVine’s name has come up in discussions in both so far since trade discussions involving the UCLA product aren’t “going away.”

“The LaVine trade chatter isn’t going away,” Johnson prefaced before saying, “In fact, league sources said that LaVine has landed in preliminary conversations with both the Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers, who are working with James Harden and Damian Lillard, respectively, to find them new homes.”

Zach LaVine Trade Only Way for Bulls to Re-Tool Roster

PhillyVoice’s Kyle Neubeck reported that the reason why the Bulls are looking to deal LaVine is that it’s the only way for Chicago to “aggressively” re-tool their roster; but conceded that the franchise is intentionally keeping the price high.

“Stuck in NBA no man’s land, it would seem like the LaVine smoke exists because the Bulls recognize trading him could be one of their only paths to aggressively retooling and reshaping the roster,” Neubeck wrote. “PhillyVoice was told pre-draft that the Bulls were setting a reasonably high price for their star guard, hoping to acquire a young player with upside and multiple picks, sources said.”

As Neubeck reports, the Bulls and Sixers haven’t gotten very far in discussions for LaVine thus far.

“According to sources familiar with the situation, the Sixers and Bulls (as Johnson alludes to in his story) only really had check-in convos prior to the draft, with nothing evolving beyond that point,” Neubeck prefaced before saying, “While this could change, the two teams have not been engaged in active dialogue, so any kind of multi-team deal involving LaVine and/or Harden would need some major work done to get close to completion.”