NBA News: Sixers hope to trade James Harden to Clippers, flip assets for All-Star Guard

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the James Harden vs Philadelphia 76ers situation is going to end anytime soon.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Thursday’s NBA Today that Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey’s “motivation is whatever he gets from the Clippers [in a potential trade], he wants to be able to flip that for another All-Star-level guard that he could replace James Harden with.”

Well, it looks like Daryl Morey is “star-hunting” again. Rather than trying to improve this Sixers squad, this egomaniac is trying to prove a point again. Perhaps I’m overreacting and this is just Morey trying to leverage his side of the situation for the best possible return in a trade, but there comes a point when you need to remove this distraction from the team before it’s too late.

The other issue is that most teams around the league are not likely to trade a star player right before the season. It’s way more likely to happen leading into the February trade deadline.

Woj on the Sixers Trade Plans

“The asking price this time of year for the players you might like to get to replace James Harden is going to be really high. So there’s not great motivation in Philadelphia to think that a deal with the Clippers now gets them the best value they can get, the best player who might be available later in the year. And that’s why this may play out over time, especially if the Clippers are not going to up their offer and include a Terance Mann in the deal, who has been off the table in these talks so far. [And the Clippers are] saying, ‘Listen, we’re not giving you two future first-round picks for a player in James Harden who might just be a one-year rental for us.’ But you’re the Clippers and you go, ‘We know we’ve made the best offer for James Harden. There’s not a great James Harden market out there.’ So that’s why this thing may be slow going well into the season.”

Adrian Wojnarowski

“I think the belief is around the #Sixers, around James Harden, that his motivation to engage, to contribute at a high level to this team is going to be built around his hope, or his belief that there’s traction on a trade to the Clippers.”

– @wojespn pic.twitter.com/BFhqwGYZ7p

— Philly Sixers Galaxy (@sixers_galaxy) October 13, 2023

The never-ending and ongoing wait continues as the Sixers must prioritize getting the maximum value in a potential Harden trade to secure the assets required for acquiring the type of player the Sixers desire to pair with Embiid. In the absence of competition from other teams in the Harden sweepstakes, the Clippers lack the motivation to present their best trade package.