For over six months, we’ve been led to believe that James Harden would either re-sign with the Philadelphia 76ers or return to the Houston Rockets this summer. It turns out there was a Plan C all along.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Sixers are looking to accommodate Harden with a trade after he picked up his $35.6 million player option. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Clippers and Knicks are expected to show interest.
There could be more teams that generate interest, but the Clippers seem like the most viable one so far. That’s because they have a need for a playmaker like Harden, they have the salaries to match for him, and they have different asset types to interest the Sixers.
Here is what a Clippers trade for Harden could look like.