Getty James Harden
Even though James Harden wants his next team to be the Los Angeles Clippers, the Philadelphia 76ers have no obligation to send him there if they don’t want to. Sports Illustrated’s Dalton Trigg proposed a three-way trade that would send Harden to the Dallas Mavericks instead, in which the following would occur between the Sixers, Mavericks, and Chicago Bulls.
Mavericks receive: Harden
Sixers receive: DeMar DeRozan, 2025 Toronto Raptors Second-Round Pick, 2028 Miami Heat Second-Round Pick
Bulls receive: Christian Wood (Sign-and-trade), Tim Hardaway Jr., 2027 Mavericks’ First-Round Pick
Trigg explained why the Sixers would acquire DeRozan in this deal.
“Replacing Harden’s production with another aging star shooting guard in DeMar DeRozan could be one of Philly’s best options,” Trigg wrote.
DeRozan isn’t the same caliber player that Harden is, but he can still produce at an All-Star level. During the 2022-23 season, DeRozan averaged 24.5 points, 5.1 assists, and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 50.4% from the field. He is also entering the last year of a three-year, $81.9 million contract he signed with the Bulls during the 2021 offseason.
Acquiring DeRozan’s expiring contract could help with the Sixers’ cap flexibility for 2024.
Clippers are ‘Fairly Unserious’ in Trade Talks: Report
Philly Voice’s Kyle Neubeck reported on July 28 that the Clippers are not showing much urgency to acquire Harden despite having a mutual interest in acquiring him.
“Even the Clippers, Harden’s preferred destination, have been fairly unserious about what they’re willing to give up in order to acquire him,” Neubeck wrote. “The prevailing sentiment seems to be that Harden is still valued, but on the team’s terms, which is a shift from the franchise-defining clout Harden had at his peak.”
Neubeck added what the market looks like for Harden at the moment.
“There will still be a market for him regardless, but at the moment, it seems like there’s a disconnect between what the player wants it to be and what teams think it is.”
Again, the Sixers have all the power in this situation because Harden technically opted to stay with the team even if he wants out. While he may want the Clippers, and they may want him too, the Sixers ultimately decide if that’s where he goes.
Tracy McGrady Questions James Harden’s Trade Request
Among those who don’t understand why Harden wants off the Sixers is Basketball Hall-of-Famer Tracy McGrady, who questions why Harden doesn’t want to play for the Sixers.
“I don’t understand for the life of me what James Harden is doing,” McGrady said in an interview in GQ published July 25. “Why are you trying to get out?”
McGrady elaborated further on what Harden has with the Sixers, which is why he can’t make sense of his trade request.
“Maybe there’s some internal bulls*** that is going on that we don’t know about,” said McGrady, who made the Hall of Fame in 2018. “Because it doesn’t make any sense to me to leave the MVP and the Eastern Conference, where you have a shot to at least play for a championship. It’s got to be something deeper than what you know. Get over it, man.”
Despite Harden joining the Sixers in 2022, they have failed to go any further than they previously had in the Joel Embiid era before he came to the team.