PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers found a suitable James Harden trade that sent him to the Los Angeles Clippers.
They sent Harden, PJ Tucker and Filip Petrusev to the Clippers in exchange for Robert Covington, Marcus Morris Sr., Nic Batum, KJ Martin and picks. The Sixers are expected to flip some of those new assets to acquire a star guard to fit next to Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid.
As for Harden, this is what he wanted. The Clippers were always his preferred destination, and Paul Reed, who thought of Harden as something of a big brother, gave his thoughts on the deal.
“It was kinda crazy, but I’m happy for him,” said Reed. “It’s something that he wanted, apparently. So I’m just happy he got somewhere he wanted to be at.”
Reed learned how and when to roll off screens from Harden. In the beginning, the young big man had a tough time learning where to be out on the floor, but that changed during Harden’s tenure.
“Just how to really conduct myself on the court and off the court,” Reed said of what he learned from Harden. “Also, just learning different angles about screens and I feel like he helped me learn the game and look at the game from a different perspective. As far as me being a big, setting screens and getting guards open. He helped me with that a lot.”
Along with Harden, the Sixers sent Tucker to the Clippers. The veteran was a big part of Reed’s continued development and growth in the league.
“PJ Tucker helped me with my mindset,” Reed added. “My mindset for sure like coming into practice with the right mentality. Him being a championship player, it means a lot when he’s giving me pointers on how to take it more seriously and how to approach each game at a different level and intensity.”
Now that both players are gone, the Sixers need Reed to take those lessons and continue to grow in Philadelphia. He will not be able to lean on those guys anymore.
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