There has been a deal between James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers.

In a blockbuster deal, the Los Angeles Clippers have acquired James Harden, PJ Tucker, and Filip Petrusev from the Houston Rockets in exchange for Marcus Morris, Nic Batum, Robert Covington, and KJ Martin, as well as a number of draft picks and a pick swap with the Philadelphia 76ers. 

“The Sixers are acquiring Marcus Morris, Nic Batum, Robert Covington, KJ Martin, multiple draft picks and a pick swap for James Harden, PJ Tucker and Filip Petrusev, sources tell ESPN..”

Since the beginning of free agency, when the Philadelphia 76ers told Harden that they would not be extending his deal, Harden and the 76ers have been involved in an ongoing trade saga with each other. Despite this, Harden decided to exercise the player option on his contract and make a trade request at the same time. 

Since Harden’s availability, the Clippers have been the only team interested in trading for him, and after much back and forth over the course of the past four months, the two teams have finally come to an agreement on the parameters of the trade. 

The Clippers are getting ready for a challenging Western Conference schedule.

The Nuggets are now in the lead as the favorites in the Western Conference, but everyone else is bunched together in a close race for second place and a chance to upset the Nuggets. This could be the deepest the Western Conference has ever been. Because they have not made any significant additions to their roster this summer, the Clippers appear to be falling behind teams like the Suns, Lakers, and Warriors. 

They attempted to acquire Malcolm Brogdon as the third team in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis, but Brogdon did not pass a medical exam, and as a result, their participation in the agreement was terminated. Because they are the only team that has been pursuing Harden for the past few months and because they have parted ways with contracts that are about to expire, the 76ers will have more freedom with their salary limit next summer.

They have a record of 2-1 to start the season, and everyone on their team is currently in good health. Russell Westbrook has been performing adequately at the point guard position, averaging 11.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game; but, his inability to create spacing and bad decision-making continue to bring down his worth. In this little sample size, he has shot 60.0% from the field, which shows that he has been effective with the shots he has taken.

Even with all of his shortcomings, Harden offers a lot of valuable assets to the table. His playmaking is up there with the best in the game, and he’s still a high-level scorer; the only difference is that he doesn’t score as well as the version of himself that he was in his prime. He finished the previous campaign averaging 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 10.7 assists, and he will serve as the true floor general that this squad requires. It will be intriguing to see what happens next regarding whether or not Westbrook starts with him or comes off the bench. 

The Clippers now have a core group of four players who were born in California, giving them the ability to eventually compete for a championship and finally break the Lakers’ stranglehold on the city. There are still a lot of unanswered questions, but this is an indication that the Clippers are giving it their all to win now.