NBA Trades: James Harden finally sees his trade demand through as the Philadelphia 76ers pull the trigger.
Nearly four months after James Harden officially requested a trade to the LA Clippers, he’s finally found his way to the West Coast. The Philadelphia 76ers finally pulled the trigger in moving Harden to the Clippers in what will end up being a blockbuster swap.
Here is the official deal:
A third team is expected to be thrown into the deal at some point before the league office approves the deal. However, in the end, it seems as if both teams won to a certain extent. The Sixers stood their ground to get the two future first-round picks that they were seeking in a Harden deal and the Clippers did well by not including Terance Mann in the deal.
It was time for both teams to move on as they met in the middle to successfully end the Harden trade saga.
Both teams could be better after the blockbuster trade
There’s an argument to be made that both the Sixers and Clippers emerged as better teams with this deal. The Clippers get a star player that could be viewed as somewhat of a missing piece for the team and the Sixers add some depth with this deal.
Considering how well Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid have looked as a duo, the additions of some quality role players could go a long way in solidifying the Sixers as a dark horse contender in the Eastern Conference.
Assuming the Sixers can continue to play at a high level, it’s safe to assume that the demise of Philly, even after trading Harden, has been greatly exaggerated.
In the end, the Sixers had to have liked what they’d seen from the new offense that Nick Nurse had installed through the first few games of the season without Harden. Additionally, Harden won equally as well. He stuck to his guns and eventually found his way to the Clippers.
How this ends up working out for both sides remains to be seen, but this was almost always the most likely outcome from the moment it was reported that Harden was seeking a trade.