NBA Trade Rumors: All signs still point to James Harden to LA Clippers happening?

NBA Trade Rumors: At least for now, it still seems as if James Harden is going to eventually find his way to the LA Clippers. 

The NBA offseason is nearly over and James Harden is still a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. I’m not sure many believed that would be the case when it was originally reported, at the beginning of the offseason, that Harden and the Sixers were set to work toward a trade. With roughly a month left before the start of NBA Training Camps, there are still many questions surrounding the Sixers and Harden.

That said, at least for now, it still seems as if Harden is eventually going to find his way to the LA Clippers. With the unlikelihood that there wouldn’t be much of a trade market for Harden, the Clippers still have to be considered the most likely landing spot for Harden. Perhaps even more so considering it’s now being reported that Harden has been in communication with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and is on the “same page” as the Clippers’ stars.

A battle of who blinks first between the Clippers, Sixers

At this point, we have a battle of who will blink first between the Sixers and Clippers. Objectively speaking, it would be surprising if Harden wasn’t eventually traded to the Clippers. The problem between the two in trade talks revolves around the compensation toward a deal. We know that the Sixers want the Clippers to include Terance Mann and draft compensation. At least for now, the Clippers aren’t willing to reach that asking price.

That’s ultimately why Sixers general manager Daryl Morey decided to end Harden trade talks. He clearly felt that the discussions between the two teams were going nowhere fast and there needed a side to be honest with where things were.

However, Morey’s decision to be public with his decision to end trade talks with the Clippers centered around Harden caused much more damage than he expected. Harden went ballistic on Morey and the Sixers, and now there’s an even bigger problem than perhaps there was before.

Unless something drastic changes, Harden is probably still going to find his way to the Clippers. It may not happen until the season actually begins but at this point, it would be surprising if Harden played another game for the Sixers.

For now, I’m not sure there are many other teams that will be lining up to acquire Harden. The Clippers, at least to a certain extent, appear interested.