James Harden has reportedly been traded by the Philadelphia 76ers to his desired destination: The Los Angeles Clippers.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski revealed the agreement at 2am EST on Tuesday morning, effectively ending months of feuding between Harden and 76ers president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey.
In exchange for Harden, the Sixers will add multiple draft picks, veteran role players such as Marcus Morris, Nic Batum, and Robert Covington, as well as 22-year-old spark plug, Kenyon Martin Jr.
Meanwhile, the Clippers will add veteran forward PJ Tucker and Filip Petrusev in addition to Harden, sources told ESPN.
Neither Harden’s agent nor team spokespeople immediately responded to .com’s request for confirmation.
James Harden has reportedly been traded to his desired destination: The Los Angeles Clippers
Morey and Harden have been at odds since the former MVP opted into the final year of his deal
Harden, who has not played this season, originally hoped to sign a long-term deal with Philadelphia after the 2022-23 campaign, but that offer never came to fruition. The 34-year-old former MVP then opted into the final year of his contract in June, but according to reports, did so under the belief that he would be traded by Morey.
By picking up his player option for the ongoing 2023-24 campaign, Harden preserved his $35.6 million salary, while putting his future in Morey’s hands, which is where the problems began between the two.
Previously, they projected a good working relationship dating back to their time together with the Houston Rockets, but Harden has publicly soured on Morey in the last few months.
Things were at their worst in August, when Harden called Morey a ‘liar’ during an off-season event in China.
‘Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,’ Harden said. ‘Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.’
Harden picked up his $35.6million contract option for next season with the 76ers in June
Harden did not play in the preseason and skipped much of training camp for what was officially called a personal matter. Ultimately, on Wednesday, he did show at the team’s complex in Camden, New Jersey, ready to play.
Coach Nick Nurse said Harden participated in practice, but he was ultimately held out of Philadelphia’s first three games.
Harden will now team with fellow All-Stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard on a Clippers team that is off to a 2-1 start.
Clippers president Lawrence Frank managed to acquire the career 24.7-point-a-game scorer without relinquishing coveted reserve guard Terance Mann.
Although detractors have slammed Harden over allegations of poor conditioning, the Arizona State product has been one of the league’s most reliable scorers since 2012-2013, when Morey first acquired him in a trade with Oklahoma City.
Harden will now team with fellow All-Stars Paul George (left) and Kawhi Leonard (right)
Since then, Harden has led the NBA in scoring three times and in assists twice, but he and Morey failed to win a title together in Houston.
He’s also been traded three times, while garnering a dwindling return in each subsequent exchange.
When the Brooklyn Nets acquired Harden from Houston in 2021 — a year after Morey’s departure — the Rockets got four first-round draft picks and four first-round pick swaps on top of Rodions Kurucs, Dante Exum, Victor Oladipo.
When Harden flamed out in Brooklyn, Morey engineered a reunion in Philadelphia, giving up Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round selections.