It was June 30 when James Harden dropped his trade request and right out of the gate the Los Angeles Clippers were the frontrunner — it’s where Harden wanted to go and they had genuine interest in him as a playmaker feeding Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
It took almost four months for the very public negotiations to get a deal done, with the Clippers saying within the last couple of weeks they were hitting the pause button (which always seemed like a negotiating tactic). Why now? Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN laid out reasons on the Woj Pod (hat tip Real GM).
“There was a tremendous amount of pressure on the Sixer organization to find a deal. Harden was working out individually with the organization as the team was away playing really well. A close loss at Milwaukee. A couple of wins, including at Toronto and then back home again.
“Tyrese Maxey, the league’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week, thirty points a game... Joel Embiid looking like the MVP. This was a Sixer team that ultimately decided as an organization that they simply could not bring James Harden back into that mix. That they had gone as far as they could with this. They got back with the Clippers and put together a deal.”
What the 76ers do next also impacted the timing. The plan in Philly has been to use the picks and expiring contracts they got in a Harden trade to make a move for an All-Star level player when the NBA trade season ramps up (starting in December through the deadline). That only works if the Harden deal is done. What players might come available — Zach LaVine? OG Anunoby? — and if they fit with the 76ers plans is another question, but it had to be part of their thinking.
For the Clippers, part of the reason to have Harden on the roster is to have someone who can take on the offensive load for Leonard and George during the long grind of the regular season, win enough regular season games to avoid the play-in, and have everyone rested and healthy for the second season starting in April. The sooner you can bring in Harden to help with that, the better.
The timing for this trade makes sense. Of course, the timing for this trade made sense back in July, but there needed to be a lot of posturing and eventually a face-saving deal to get there. That takes time.
