Months after point guard James Harden requested a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers, the team finally granted his wish.
The 76ers dealt him to the Los Angeles Clippers early Tuesday morning in exchange for Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, K.J. Martin and multiple draft picks.
FULL TRADE SUMMARY:
Clippers get: James Harden and PJ Tucker
76ers get: Nicolas Batum, Marcus Morris, Robert Covington and KJ Martin, and draft picks pic.twitter.com/wCZYbU1wSA
— Ahn Fire Digital (@AhnFireDigital) October 31, 2023
The NBA world has since reacted to the news of Harden landing with the Clippers.
CHEF HARDEN BACK HOME
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) October 31, 2023
WOJ 💣 At 2AM Crazyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!! Lol 😂
— Dejounte Murray (@DejounteMurray) October 31, 2023
https://t.co/Lmjx7e39dp pic.twitter.com/ts5A0fiA6q
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) October 31, 2023
example #1000 why you cant live on the east coast and cover the nba nationally without gold plan health insurance.
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) October 31, 2023
can we please get the real Harden plane story now? i know he didnt just show up and willingly get escorted off the tarmac in a luggage trolley.
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) October 31, 2023
Harden quits on teams and somehow always gets to go where he wants to. It’s honestly incredible.
— Chris Vernon (@ChrisVernonShow) October 31, 2023
The Clippers are a truly hilarious franchise.
Kawhi, PG, Harden & Russ are all FAs after this season.
Here’s what their future 1st round picks look like:
‘24 to OKC
‘25 swap w/ OKC
‘26 to OKC
‘27 swap with OKC
‘28 to PHI
‘29 swap with PHIThey’ve also traded 6 2nds away.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) October 31, 2023
— 𝕃𝕚𝕝𝕪 𝔼.𝔹𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕞🪬 (@LilyEBatum) October 31, 2023
The trade might end up as a win for the Clippers, considering they didn’t have to give up any of Bones Hyland, Norman Powell, Russell Westbrook, Ivica Zubac or Terance Mann in the deal and also acquired P.J. Tucker, who is a great defender at the forward position.
The 76ers received a quality package for Harden too. Batum, Covington, Morris and Martin all project to be fighting for minutes in head coach Nick Nurse’s rotation. Plus, the team also acquired some draft capital which could be used in future trades.
Harden is joining a Clippers team that has had a productive start to the 2023-24 regular season. The team owns a 2-1 record with wins over the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 25 and San Antonio Spurs on Oct. 29.
The Clippers were dominant in their win over the Spurs, seeing as how they won by 40 points. Clippers star wing Kawhi Leonard scored a team-high 21 points in the victory.
Star big man Joel Embiid and the Sixers are playing solid basketball to start the season as well. They are also 2-1 and have won their last two games after losing to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks by one point in their regular-season opener. Philadelphia’s two wins have come against the Toronto Raptors and Trail Blazers.
The Clippers should be perceived as one of the best teams in the Western Conference after acquiring Harden. The Clippers should be able to win plenty of games during the regular season, and if Paul George and Leonard can avoid the injury bug, the team has the talent to make a run at the 2024 NBA title in the spring.
