Rival Teams Hesitant to Help With James Harden Trade to Clippers

The Clippers reportedly have been trying to get a third team involved in their James Harden trade talks with the 76ers, mostly to land some draft capital and help sweeten an offer.

But it appears those attempts aren’t going so well.

According to Hoops Wire sources, rival teams have been hesitant to get involved in the so-called Harden sweepstakes — unless, of course, they are able to receive something substantial from the Clippers or Sixers in return.

In other words, teams are viewing the Harden saga as sort of a competitive advantage, particularly when it comes to the Sixers, an East contender when all their pieces are happy and in place.

Instead, Harden’s trade demand to the Clippers is viewed by rivals as a dark cloud hanging over the Sixers. And those rivals have no desire to bring an end to it at a low cost.

So that’s one reason that a significant gap remains between the Sixers and Clippers on a Harden trade, as we relayed here.

Harden, 34, was a no-show at practice on Wednesday and hasn’t been with the Sixers since Sunday, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. He reportedly is frustrated that the Sixers have gotten no closer to a deal with the Clippers than they were months ago.

But that’s a problem for the Sixers, and to a significantly lesser degree, the Clippers. The other 28 teams that aren’t involved aren’t about to make it their issue, too. So it appears they will only get involved if there’s something really cool in it for them as well.