The Philadelphia 76ers trading James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers sounds almost inevitable at this point. On the July 3 episode of “#thisleague UNCUT,” NBA Insider Marc Stein said, “Pretty much anyone you speak to around the league says Harden is gonna end up a Clipper.”
His co-host, fellow insider Chris Haynes, added that another Sixer could very well be included in the trade.
“I think that somehow, someway, P.J. Tucker will make his way over there as well. I don’t know if it will be part of a James Harden trade or separate, but I keep hearing people saying somehow they feel like P.J. is.”
Stein added that it’s “not that hard to imagine” Tucker being included in the package deal to the Clippers alongside Harden.
If the Sixers want to have cap flexibility in the near future, trading away Tucker, who has two years left in the three-year, $39 million contract he signed last summer, along with Harden, could help them accomplish that goal if they trade Harden to the Clippers.
The Clippers have multiple expiring deals to offer the Sixers, including Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum, and ex-Sixer Robert Covington, on top of young talent like Terrence Mann, Bones Hyland, and K.J. Martin.
‘Door Was Shut’ on James Harden Playing for Sixers
Because Harden has opted into his deal, he is still technically a Sixer, which leaves the door open for him to play for the team should they not find a trade they would like for him. The Athletic’s Sam Amick shut down that option when he revealed that Harden has no intention of playing for the Sixers again on the “Ball Don’t Lie” podcast on July 3.
“When I essentially asked the question of, ‘Is there a small percentage chance that you find a way for James to settle down, ala Kevin Durant last summer, and get him back on the court at the start of the season?’ That door, I was told, was shut right away. The Sixers understand that’s not happening.”
When Amick asked if the Sixers would grant Harden’s request to be traded to the Clippers, he was told, “We’ll see.”
Amick on if the Sixers could persuade Harden to stay:
“…that door, I was told, was shut right away. Like the #Sixers understand that’s not happening. So then the next question is, okay what about the [Clippers]? And then it was like ‘well, we’ll see.’
Whether the Sixers grant his request or not, it’s clear that Harden has played his last game with the team with no hope of him changing his mind on the matter.
James Harden ‘Extremely Upset’ With Sixers
When Harden’s intentions came to light, Amick revealed why things went south between Harden and the Sixers.
“Harden is, according to sources close to him, extremely upset at the way in which the Sixers handled his possible free agency and has made his dissatisfaction clear to the organization,” Amick wrote.
Amick added that, despite the Sixers coaching change, how they approached Harden’s free agency did not sit well with him.
“Many believed that the late-May hiring of Nick Nurse to replace Doc Rivers as coach would lead to Harden re-signing. But in the end, sources involved in the matter say, it was a series of silent Sixers signals sent in recent weeks that compelled Harden to pursue that goal elsewhere yet again.”
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Sixers’ $39 Million Wing May Be Included in James Harden Trade: Insider