Daryl Morey's stubbornness holding up James Harden trade to Clippers
Despite being adamant in his desire to be traded and the Los Angeles Clippers being the lone team bidding for his services, James Harden remains a member of the Philadelphia 76ers — thanks in large part to the inflexibility of Daryl Morey.
According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Clippers have zero desire to increase their offer of a first-round pick, draft-pick swap and expiring contracts to the Sixers. Yet sources claim Morey, the president of basketball operations for Philadelphia, continues to hold up the deal as he remains set on acquiring Clippers guard Terance Mann.
"They’ve said they’re interested in a package that includes Clippers guard Terance Mann and first-round picks," Pompey wrote. "But the source said Morey knows Mann is untouchable."
Mann, 26, is viewed as a highly-touted trade chip around the NBA, even being dangled in trade discussions for All-Star guard Jrue Holiday before his trade to the Boston Celtics, per The Athletic's Shams Charania.
Mann's trade value appears to supersede his on-court prowess. While a viable role player and quality two-way player, he's never averaged more than 10.8 PPG in a season and started just 36 games in 2022-23. Still, the Clippers value his upside and the idea of parting with Mann and multiple first-round picks to acquire a 34-year-old Harden in the final year of his contract would be bad business on Los Angeles' part.
Ultimately, Morey will need to swallow his pride and move off of Harden for the better of the Sixers' culture. While failing to yield a blockbuster return for a player of Harden's status is undoubtedly difficult to stomach, Harden's diminishing scoring output and his tendency to seek greener pastures have docked the former league MVP's trade value.
In 79 games with the Sixers, Harden has averaged 21.0 PPG. In comparison, he averaged 33.6 PPG over his final three full seasons as a member of the Houston Rockets. If Harden is traded this season, it will mark his fourth team in as many years.
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