Massive Update On Clippers-Sixers Trade Talks For James Harden

The talk of the NBA trade rumor mill entering the 2023-24 season is entirely James Harden amid his ongoing desire to play for a new team. The Philadelphia 76ers have remained hard-pressed to find a solution that has yet to be presented. Will they change their approach?

The main possible trade suitor for Harden has remained the Los Angeles Clippers — the team that the former NBA MVP has made clear he wants to join via trade since early in this whole saga. Harden, a Los Angeles native, would look to compete for a long-awaited NBA championship alongside other dynamic talents like Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook.

According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, there is a major continued snag in trade talks involving the 76ers and Clippers regarding a deal for Harden. Los Angeles will not budge on keeping Terance Mann out of trade talks, while the Sixers are motivated to acquire him to include him in a future trade for an All-Star teammate to pair with Joel Embiid.

“But the plan to add draft-pick swaps in a package for Harden hasn’t moved the needle for the Sixers. They’ve said they’re interested in a package that includes Clippers guard Terance Mann and first-round picks. But the source said Morey knows Mann is untouchable,” Pompey wrote. “The Sixers are looking for an All-Star player or assets to acquire for Harden. That’s why draft-pick swaps may not be good enough. And word is that the Sixers don’t expect the picks from the Clippers, who need to stay relevant in a big market, to be that valuable, especially with them being a perennial playoff team.”

Harden remains a productive player, averaging 21.0 points, 10.7 assists, and 6.1 rebounds in 58 games last season. He had a playoff appearance riddled with impressive highs and disappointing lows with the 76ers, serving as yet another campaign in Embiid’s tenure in Philadelphia that came short of an Eastern Conference Finals appearance.

The 76ers face a lot of pressure to come out ahead in the Harden trade saga due to the increasingly thinning patience of the reigning NBA MVP. If they cannot string together enough of a return for Harden, they will be placed in a limited transaction cycle that falls short of expectations.

The Clippers must also start proving they can stay durable enough to compete for a championship with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. Adding a talent like James Harden would at least help to provide another punch throughout an 82-game season, but regardless, adding another piece only goes so far if the team’s main superstars aren’t available to play in big moments.