Proposed 5-Way Trade Sends Sixers $120 Million Scorer for James Harden

Getty James Harden

James Harden no longer wants to play for the Philadelphia 76ers. Damian Lillard no longer wants to play for the Portland Trail Blazers. In light of these ongoing trade requests, Kristian Winfield of New York Daily News proposed a trade between the Sixers, Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers, Washington Wizards, and Miami Heat to resolve both requests.

Winfield proposed the following trade:

Sixers receive: Tyler Herro, Marcus Morris Sr., Landry Shamet, 2028 Clippers first-round pick, Conditional Wizards second-round pick

Clippers receive: James Harden, P.J. Tucker

Trail Blazers receive: Terance Mann, Bones Hyland, Duncan Robinson, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, Norman Powell, Danilo Gallinari, Delon Wright, 2028 Heat First-Round Pick, 2030 Heat First-Round Pick, 2030 Clippers First-Round Pick, 2026 Clippers Second-Round Pick, 2029 Clippers Second-Round Pick, 2027 Conditional Wizards Second-Round Pick

Heat receive: Lillard, Jusuf Nurkic

Wizards receive: Kyle Lowry, Furkan Korkmaz

Winfield explained why the Sixers would take Herro, Morris, and Shamet.

“The Sixers take on Herro’s remaining four years worth $120 million to help replace the perimeter scoring and playmaking production absent after moving Harden. They replace Tucker’s grit with Marcus Morris — a better scorer than Tucker has ever been — and add extra floor spacing with the sweet-shooting Landry Shamet,” Winfield wrote.

Winfield then projected what the Sixers new starting lineup would be if this trade were to be agreed upon.

“This deal creates a starting lineup of Joel Embiid, Marcus Morris, Tobias Harris, Herro, and Tyrese Maxey, while replacing Korkmaz’s perimeter shooting through the addition of Shamet.”

Herro is entering the first year of a four-year, $120 million contract.

James Harden Wanted to Put Sixers ‘In Some Pain’: Insider

On August 16, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that Harden decided to lash out upon hearing that the Sixers were no longer discussing him in trades.

“When James Harden and his agents were informed over the weekend…that they were not going to continue with trade talks. That Philadelphia was going to shut that down. You can imagine he was very upset. It was communicated to the Sixers that they were going to put them in some pain as a result of this. That’s what James Harden did with those comments on Monday morning in China. He put the Sixers in some pain,” Windhorst said.

Windhorst added that Harden probably won’t be done after what he said about Morey.

“My guess is he may not be done with it. There may be other opportunities for him to really squeeze the Sixers to try to make them reconsider this position.”

‘Minimal to No Buzz’ From Potential James Harden Suitors

While it’s possible that other teams may take an interest in Harden besides the Clippers, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus reported on August 16 that the other mentioned suitors for Harden have shown little to no interest in acquiring him.

“So far, there’s been minimal to no buzz that teams like the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, and New York Knicks are interested in Harden. The Los Angeles Clippers have been the only team that made some level of sense as a trade partner.”

Harden having a falling out with his third team in the last three years along with being on an expiring contract makes him not very appealing as a player to trade.