James Harden finally received his ticket out of Philadelphia.
The 76ers agreed to trade the 10-time All-Star along with P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrusev to the Los Angeles Clippers for Marcus Morris, Nic Batum, Robert Covington, Kenyon Martin Jr., a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks and a pick swap, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN on Tuesday.
The Clippers will also send Philadelphia an additional future first-round pick from a third team, adds Wojnarowski. The 76ers will waive guard Danny Green to clear a roster spot.
Here’s what the math on the proposed trade looks like, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks:
The blockbuster move to L.A. marks the culmination of a messy falling-out between the former MVP and the Sixers front office. Harden demanded a trade after exercising his $35.6-million player option in the summer.
Harden subsequently called team president Daryl Morey “a liar” while vowing to never play for the organization again. Harden then missed the end of training camp and preseason as part of a 10-day absence due to personal reasons. He’s yet to play this regular season.
In the end, Harden appeared in 79 regular-season outings for the Sixers across two seasons and change following his trade from Brooklyn in February 2022, which sent Ben Simmons the other way.
Harden, 34, joins a veteran-laden Clippers roster anchored by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George that bowed out of the playoffs last season in the first round to the Phoenix Suns.
Meanwhile, of the players headed Philly’s way, Covington leads the pack this season in three games in average minutes (23), points (three), and rebounds (2.7). He played for the Sixers from 2014 through 2018. Last year, Morris started 65 games and averaged 11.2 points, four rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 28 minutes.
The Clippers are Harden’s fifth team in his 15-year career, following spells with the Thunder, Rockets, Nets, and Sixers. He led the league in assists (10.7) last season and was Philly’s second-leading scorer, averaging 21 points per game.
Harden’s departure represents another major change for the Sixers. Shake Milton, Georges Niang, and Jalen McDaniels all left during the offseason, while Patrick Beverley, Mo Bamba, Danny Green, and Kelly Oubre Jr. were brought in prior to the Clippers trade to bolster new head coach Nick Nurse’s squad.
Philadelphia and L.A. are both off to 2-1 starts this season.
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