Clippers Not Willing to Give Up Terance Mann in Potential James Harden Trade

October 4, 2023

No team is being linked to James Harden like the Clippers. And that may even include the 76ers, the team from which Harden is seeking a trade.

But right now, there’s nothing doing on that front. The Clippers and Sixers have spoken recently … and that’s about where it ends.

Per NBA insider Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, the Clippers are being “picky” about what they potentially surrender in exchange for Harden, and for now, Los Angeles guard/forward Terance Mann is off limits.

Harden finally reported to Sixers training camp in Colorado Springs, Colo., but there’s no sense he will be a good soldier or stick around. He remains as firm as ever in his trade demand, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

“There’s not a trade out there that keeps the Sixers in championship contention this season,” Woj said on NBA Today.

“The difference between the Harden situation and the Ben Simmons‘ situation a couple of years ago is there were a lot of possible deals out there for Ben Simmons. You would measure them. You would look at them. What they could get. Teams in both conferences had interest in Ben Simmons.

“This is different. There’s not widespread interest in James Harden. The Clippers are the most motivated team to give up at least a first-round pick in this. Or potentially, let’s say, a pick swap. I’m not saying they’ve offered that in this.

“The Clippers are the most win-now team. They’ve needed to solidify that lead guard position. At the same time, the Clippers are not in a position to gut all their assets for the future… They also know ‘We don’t want to bid against ourselves.’ The Sixers don’t have anything else. The Knicks talked to the Sixers early on in this thing, but there’s no great motivation for the Knicks to do a one-year rental for James Harden.”

Houston didn't want James Harden because the Rockets wanted to build something young and new, I was told.

Harden and Rockets head coach Ime Udoka have a mutual respect for one another. Udoka was an assistant coach under Steve Nash during Harden's first season with the Brooklyn… pic.twitter.com/qmXM5BQJG2

— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) October 4, 2023