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The NBA hot stove ignited Thursday with news of a potential James Harden trade.
Adrian Wojnarowski said Harden will exercise his $35.6 player option with the Philadelphia 76ers, but they’re working together to seek a trade. The ESPN insider identified the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks as two teams expected to explore a deal.
After breaking the news, Woj went on SportsCenter to detail the developing story. He called the Clippers “the most prominent team” eyeing Harden.
“They have been on the search for a point guard to lead that group,” Wojnarowski said, via Evan Sidery.
The Clippers are the “most prominent” team in trade talks for James Harden, per @wojespn:
– Trade discussions have already begun between the Sixers and other teams.
– Clippers are not interested in trading any of their “good young players” for Harden.
– Philadelphia wants real… pic.twitter.com/hNkYG2QboK
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) June 29, 2023
However, the Clippers aren’t interested in trading any “good young players.” They’d look to move future draft picks and players on expiring contracts.
The Knicks, meanwhile, have “a lot of assets,” but Wojnarowski wondered if the 76ers would trade Harden to another team in the Atlantic division.
Wojnarowski added that other teams will express interest, and he’s “not sure how quickly” a trade will go down.
Like Harden, the Clippers haven’t translated regular-season success into an NBA Finals appearance. They suffered a first-round playoff exit with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard sidelined.
While Russell Westbrook provided a late spark, the 34-year-old likely isn’t a long-term solution at point guard. Brian Windhorst noted on Thursday’s Pardon The Interruption that Wednesday’s “surprise move” to cut Eric Gordon may have set the stage for the Clippers to target Harden and create a new Big Three.