It seemed as though a James Harden deal wasn’t going to come to fruition between the Clippers and the Sixers, but late last night when most of America was asleep, it happened.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski revealed the details of the deal.
“The 76ers sent Harden, P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrusev to the Clippers for Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, KJ Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks, a 2029 pick swap and an additional first-round pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder, sources told ESPN,” Wojnarowski wrote.
Another NBA Insider, Shams Charania reported that the owners of the two respective teams came together to hash out the deal.
“76ers owner Josh Harris and Clippers owner Steve Ballmer ironed out the details of the Harden trade on a phone call Monday, league sources said,” Charania said. “Philadelphia decided Monday that the team’s relationship with Harden would no longer work and it was time to trade him after the 76ers’ 2-1 start to the season, per the sources.”
In most trade deals, the pieces would have already been worked out by this late stage, but Harden’s deal was a little different.
“What’s unique about this trade is that it was completed before it was even completed,” B/R’s Brett Siegel reports. “Harden going to the Clippers was the first domino to fall in trade talks, as figuring out the details of how this deal was going to happen is what Philadelphia and Los Angeles pondered over on Monday night.”
As for Harden, he is obviously stoked that his wish came true and is “ecstatic” to be heading to LA, sources close to him told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
He has technically pulled off his fourth trade request in his career and will now join fellow All-Star veterans Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook at the Clippers to chase his first NBA championship.
Harden hasn’t actually played in any official NBA games this season, so it’s hard to know how much training he’ll need to undergo before he takes the court for the Clippers.