The Clippers have spoken to multiple teams and are “going to great lengths” to try to orchestrate a trade with the 76ers for James Harden, per Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic.
In case you’ve been living in a world that has nothing to do with the NBA, Harden demanded a trade from the Sixers shortly after picking up his contract option back in June. His preferred destination? You guessed it — the Clippers.
And the Clippers wouldn’t mind pairing Harden with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and old friend Russell Westbrook (yet again). But that will take some capital, and perhaps assets the Clippers do not have. So it would only make sense for them to try to rope in a third or maybe even fourth team to facilitate a deal.
According to Charania and Amick, the Clippers have so far offered the Sixers an unprotected first-round pick, a pick swap, and matching salaries in a straight-up scenario for Harden.
The Sixers seemingly would like all those picks, but also guard Terance Mann. It appears the Clippers are hesitant to part ways with Mann, as he was also linked to a potential Jrue Holiday deal with the Trail Blazers. Portland traded Holiday to the Celtics instead.
For now, Harden has been practicing with the Sixers. But it’s hard to know how much longer he will do that before he attempts to force their hand. Then again, maybe he’s not waiting on Philadelphia to pull off a deal as much as he is Los Angeles.
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