Philadelphia 76ers trade star guard James Harden to Los Angeles Clippers, per reports
The turbulent relationship between James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers appears to be over after the team agreed to trade the 10-time All-Star guard to the Los Angeles Clippers, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported.
According to the reports, the trade involves Harden, P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrusev heading to the Clippers, while the Sixers get Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nicolas Batum, KJ Martin and multiple draft picks.
CNN has contacted the Clippers, the Sixers and Harden’s representative for comment.
Having not played for Philadelphia this season, the 34-year-old will join a prospective superteam in Los Angeles with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and former teammate Russell Westbrook already starring on the Clippers.
Harden’s time with the Sixers has been acrimonious in recent months. He previously said that his relationship with the team was “beyond repair” and called team president Daryl Morey a “liar” during an event in China when asked about trade talks.
At the time, a member of the Sixers organization with knowledge of the situation said that Morey was “not surprised by Harden’s commentary and his attempt to make things personal.”
In August, Harden was fined $100,000 by the NBA for what the league called “public trade demands” in relation to the player’s “belief that the 76ers would not accommodate his request to be traded.”
Harden, who missed some of the team’s training camp, reportedly made it clear to the Sixers that he wanted to be traded over the offseason after another disappointing playoff exit last season.
According to multiple media reports, including from ESPN’s Wojnarowski, the Sixers spent most the offseason looking to facilitate the wishes of the 2018 league MVP.
It’s not the first time that Harden has expressed dissatisfaction with one of his teams. In 2021, he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets after saying that the Houston Rockets were “just not good enough” during an underwhelming playoff exit.
The following year, he was traded to the Sixers from the Nets after rumors of his desire to leave Brooklyn surfaced.
The Clippers, who are 2-1 on the season, have assembled an experienced and star-studded team this year around Leonard, George and Westbrook, and could push for a first NBA championship in franchise history with the addition of Harden.
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