The James Harden saga lastly got here to an finish earlier this week, when the Philadelphia 76ers traded him to the Los Angeles Clippers in a late-night blockbuster. As with all huge transfer, there was some fascinating fallout.
We’ll start with an interesting note from Shams Charania, which indicated that Sixers proprietor Josh Harris and Clippers proprietor Steve Ballmer received on the telephone to “iron out” the ultimate particulars of the commerce. Then, we’ll contemplate what Yahoo’s Vincent Goodwill reported on the “Ball Don’t Lie Podcast.”
“From all the pieces that I have been advised, this was not a bundle commerce that Daryl Morey wished,” Goodwill famous. “This was a commerce that was made basically by the Philadelphia 76ers possession. That they had advised Daryl Morey to get a deal performed now.”
What will we make of these reviews?
It’s definitely uncommon for house owners to be on the telephone negotiating trades. Nevertheless, the concept that Morey was compelled into accepting this supply does not fairly line up with feedback he is made himself all through the method.
Earlier this summer time, after Harden had requested a commerce, the Sixers’ president went on the radio and laid out his necessities to get a deal performed.
“I feel James is an excellent participant and proper now, sadly, he does want to be elsewhere,” Morey stated throughout an interview with native Philadelphia radio station 97.5 The Fanatic. “I am trying to honor that, however the actuality is, if we do have a look at a commerce, it’ll be for one in all two issues. It is both going to be for a participant who continues to assist us be proper there like we had been final yr…or we’ll do it for one thing the place we get sufficient draft picks and issues like that in a deal that we might flip these right into a participant who generally is a operating mate with Joel [Embiid] as effectively.
“If we do not get both an excellent participant or one thing we will flip into an excellent participant, we’re simply not going to do it.”
He made comparable feedback on Wednesday during a post-trade press conference, by which he defined the transaction:
We’re actually excited for what this commerce brings as effectively when it comes to our capacity to maintain bettering the staff going ahead. Each within the draft capital we go that we thought was extraordinarily necessary for our capacity to maintain bettering and being a championship caliber staff.
Very inspired that we had been capable of get what we — we set a bar in June, actually, when James requested the commerce and stated look if we will get it to right here, that ought to be what typically permits you go exit and get a participant. Having a participant like Jrue [Holiday] go for the same bundle was validating in that. So we set that bar and clearly it got here collectively the place the Clippers met that worth, in order that’s why the commerce occurred when it did.
Here is the ultimate return the Sixers obtained for Harden, PJ Tucker and FIlip Petrusev:
That return doesn’t embody a “superb participant,” nor does it embody Terance Mann, whom the Sixers reportedly coveted. Nevertheless, it does embody many issues the Sixers can flip into an excellent participant. The Clippers’ unprotected 2028 first-round decide, particularly, is a significant prize that figures to fetch return.
Harris was concerned within the proceedings by all accounts, and he could have pushed Morey to make the deal ahead of he would have preferred. As we have seen up to now with the Ben Simmons saga, Morey is greater than prepared to attend to see what arises; maybe one other staff would have gotten determined and provided extra for Harden nearer to the deadline.
This return met Morey’s said threshold, although, so it appears unlikely that he was tremendous opposed and needed to be compelled to just accept it by Harris.
