James Harden Traded to Clippers

[hwangjini_1]

the clippers have also been retroactively awarded the 2017 NBA title.

[BitterJim]

Per Shams:

Draft compensation that the Clippers are sending Philadelphia in James Harden trade, per sources:

- 2026 LAC first-round pick via OKC
- 2028 LAC first-round pick
- Two second round picks
- One pick swap

OKC must be adding protection to that pick. No way they give up that Clippers pick unprotected for just some vets

It looks like it is protected, and they get the Clippers 2027 pick swap in return for the 2026 pick. I'll want to see what the protections look like, but that makes some sense to me for OKC. They might end up getting nothing in return for the pick, but the upside is huge and the protections probably means that if they miss out on the 2026 pick it would have been worse than their other 2026 picks anyway

Edit: Apparently it's the worst of OKC's 3 picks in 2026 (OKC, Houston w/ top 4 protections, and Clippers) straight up. That seems like a pretty safe bet for OKC

[SparzWizard]

A Big 4 of Kawhi, George, Harden, and Westbrook...could make Clippers top 4 in the West. As long as they give the other LA team hell I'm all for it 

[Who]

Bad decision by Philly. They should have tried harder to repair the relationship. They gave up on it too easily and settled for a terrible trade return instead.

[Who]

Not sure this will work out for LAC. They have a delicate balance there with Westbrook, PG13 & Kawhi. Westbrook has worked wonderfully well thus far but this could undo all of that.

Harden is a threat to the equilibrium.

[Roy H.]

Per Shams:

Draft compensation that the Clippers are sending Philadelphia in James Harden trade, per sources:

- 2026 LAC first-round pick via OKC
- 2028 LAC first-round pick
- Two second round picks
- One pick swap

OKC must be adding protection to that pick. No way they give up that Clippers pick unprotected for just some vets

It looks like it is protected, and they get the Clippers 2027 pick swap in return for the 2026 pick. I'll want to see what the protections look like, but that makes some sense to me for OKC. They might end up getting nothing in return for the pick, but the upside is huge and the protections probably means that if they miss out on the 2026 pick it would have been worse than their other 2026 picks anyway

Edit: Apparently it's the worst of OKC's 3 picks in 2026 (OKC, Houston w/ top 4 protections, and Clippers) straight up. That seems like a pretty safe bet for OKC

Yeah, I guess the thinking is that if the Clippers bomb out in 2026 / 2027, they'll likely hold on to that 2026 pick anyway, and could then get a premium pick in 2027 as well.

[Atzar]

Philly did okay.  They have more bodies to throw at the Jays defensively, which is noteworthy, and enough assets overall to potentially add one more piece somewhere.  Biiig burden on Embiid and Maxey offensively in the meantime though.  I'm not sure I want to put that much on Embiid's shoulders if I expect him to get to the playoffs healthy, especially since Nurse tends to run his best players into the ground anyway. 

[jambr380]

Bad decision by Philly. They should have tried harder to repair the relationship. They gave up on it too easily and settled for a terrible trade return instead.

They would have had to fire Morey - it appeared they didn't want to do that.

In the end, they got 2 1sts, 2 2nds, and a swap. They also received a couple of playable players. It's not far off from what POR got for Holiday (the players we sent were better, but PHI got 2 2nds and a swap) and Holiday is seemingly valued higher around the league than Harden at this point.

They also have a ton of expiring contracts. Not that it's a killer FA class, but they could conceivably sign someone like Siakam. Either way, they did what they had to do and can finally move on.

[Goldstar88]

Really can’t stand James Harden…

[BitterJim]

Per Shams:

Draft compensation that the Clippers are sending Philadelphia in James Harden trade, per sources:

- 2026 LAC first-round pick via OKC
- 2028 LAC first-round pick
- Two second round picks
- One pick swap

OKC must be adding protection to that pick. No way they give up that Clippers pick unprotected for just some vets

It looks like it is protected, and they get the Clippers 2027 pick swap in return for the 2026 pick. I'll want to see what the protections look like, but that makes some sense to me for OKC. They might end up getting nothing in return for the pick, but the upside is huge and the protections probably means that if they miss out on the 2026 pick it would have been worse than their other 2026 picks anyway

Edit: Apparently it's the worst of OKC's 3 picks in 2026 (OKC, Houston w/ top 4 protections, and Clippers) straight up. That seems like a pretty safe bet for OKC

Yeah, I guess the thinking is that if the Clippers bomb out in 2026 / 2027, they'll likely hold on to that 2026 pick anyway, and could then get a premium pick in 2027 as well.

And if OKC is confident that they'll make the playoffs in 2026 (which seems like a safe bet, but who knows what will happen in 2-3 years), then the downside is losing a non-lottery first when they have too many picks already. It's a pretty ballsy move by Presti

[Donoghus]

Really can’t stand James Harden…

Are there really many James Harden fans walking this earth?

[Celtics2021]

Philly overplayed their hand here. I bet they could have gotten a similar package in July, and then had the picks and expiring salaries to be involved in the Lillard or Holiday discussions without trying to force through an awkward 3 or 4-way trade that didn’t work.

They can try to do something the weeks before the deadline now, but my guess is they don’t get anything done because Morey instead wants to hold onto his cap space and negotiates too hard, yet again, wasting another Embiid season.

[Goldstar88]

Really can’t stand James Harden…

Are there really many James Harden fans walking this earth?

I certainly hope not. 

[Who]

Philly have zero hopes of contending in the East without Harden. They are another above average playoff team like Cleveland now.

[Who]

The 76ers frontcourt depth is much improved. They can move Paul Reed back to backup center with Marcus Morris taking over at backup PF. Move Mo Bamba back to 3rd string.

They have loads of depth at backup SF with K Oubre, R Covington and now KJ Martin. They still have D Melton and N Batum at SG.

C: Embiid, P Reed, Mo Bamba
F: PJ Tucker, Marcus Morris, R Covington
F: T Harris, K Oubre, KJ Martin
G: N Batum, D Melton
G: Maxey, P Beverley

A much improved bench.