Reports: 76ers to trade Harden to Clippers

MANILA, Philippines – NBA star James Harden is headed for the Los Angeles Clippers after his current team, the Philadelphia 76ers, have agreed to trade him, reports said Tuesday.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news on X, formerly known as Twitter.

BREAKING: The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed on a trade to send guard James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/wAyuJKMfAw

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 31, 2023

The Athletic's Shams Charania later posted on X the players involved in the trade sending Harden to the Clippers.

BREAKING: The Philadelphia 76ers are trading James Harden and PJ Tucker to the Los Angeles Clippers for Nicolas Batum, Marcus Morris, Robert Covington and KJ Martin, and draft picks, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. pic.twitter.com/4gwGJgrYUb

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 31, 2023

Harden, 34, will team up with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook in Los Angeles. Harden played with Westbrook in Oklahoma City in his first three NBA seasons and briefly reunited with the 2017 MVP in Houston.

The trade ends the standoff between Harden and the 76ers, who are looking to bring in another elite guard to partner with reigning MVP Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

Harden had been at odds with 76ers team president Daryl Morey over wanting a long-term contract.

After opting into a one-year deal with the expectation of being traded, no deal for Harden materialised, leaving him calling Morey a liar and saying the ruptured relationship could never be mended.

Philadelphia, who haven't reached the NBA Finals since 2001, lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals for the fifth time in six years last season.

The Clippers reached the West Conference finals for the first time in 2021, and added Westbrook toward the end of last season after he completed a contract buyout with the Utah Jazz following his trade from the Los Angeles Lakers. – With a report from AFP