{"id":57891,"date":"2023-10-31T19:43:31","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T23:43:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=57891"},"modified":"2023-10-31T19:43:31","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T23:43:31","slug":"james-harden-trade-grades-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/10\/31\/james-harden-trade-grades-2\/","title":{"rendered":"James Harden Trade Grades"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The three-month-long <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hardeja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Harden<\/a><\/strong> trade saga <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/10\/31\/what-the-james-harden-trade-means-for-the-clippers-and-76ers\/\" target=\"_self\">concluded<\/a> in dramatic fashion. In the middle of the night, he was once again shipped to his preferred destination, this time the Los Angeles Clippers. Harden was focused on a Clippers trade after contract disputes led him to demand a trade from Philadelphia in June. Let\u2019s analyze this blockbuster deal from both sides.<\/p>\n<h2>James Harden Trade Grades<\/h2>\n<h3>The Deal in Full<\/h3>\n<p>76ers receive: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/morrima03.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marcus Morris<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/covinro01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Robert Covington<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/batumni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nicolas Batum<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/martike04.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">KJ Martin<\/a><\/strong>, 2026 and 2028 first-rounders, two second-rounders, and a pick swap.<\/p>\n<p>Clippers receive: Harden, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/tuckepj01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">P.J. Tucker<\/a><\/strong>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/petrufi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Filip Petrusev<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">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 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheAthletic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@TheAthletic<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Stadium?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Stadium<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4gwGJgrYUb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/4gwGJgrYUb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShamsCharania\/status\/1719242901438242833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 31, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Trade grades<\/h3>\n<h3>Philadelphia 76ers: B<\/h3>\n<p>Accurately grading this trade from the 76ers perspective is nearly impossible. Harden put Philly\u2019s front office into an extremely <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/07\/27\/analyzing-the-2023-philadelphia-76ers-soap-opera\/\" target=\"_self\">challenging<\/a> situation and diminished his value in the process. While the win-now value isn\u2019t there in this return, the trade gives the 76ers much flexibility, including valuable future draft picks from the Clippers and four expiring contracts. The 76ers now have a potential of $100 million in cap space entering the next offseason. It\u2019s important to note that re-signing <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/maxeyty01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyrese Maxey<\/a><\/strong> would take a good portion of this space. Regardless, this move gives the 76ers the needed assets and cap to land another star next to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/e\/embiijo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joel Embiid<\/a><\/strong>. With Maxey having a breakout season, the 76ers have enough to remain competitive in the East. At the same time, they can make a big move at the trade deadline or in free agency. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lavinza01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zach LaVine<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/siakapa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pascal Siakam<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/anunoog01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">OG Anunoby<\/a><\/strong>, and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/i\/ingrabr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brandon Ingram<\/a><\/strong> remain intriguing possibilities if the 76ers take that route.<\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, if the 76ers can\u2019t compete or land a star, Embiid may get upset. This move gives the 76ers the fallback option of rebuilding and starting a youth movement. While this is an unlikely scenario, it\u2019s still a possibility and something to keep in mind. Ultimately, despite the low name value, this trade gives the 76ers several options and tons of flexibility, which is extremely intriguing.<\/p>\n<h3>Los Angeles Clippers: B-<\/h3>\n<p>In a vacuum, this deal is incredible value for the Clippers and gives them a better chance to compete in the Western Conference. The Clippers were able to get Harden for pennies on the dollar. Three aging role players, an intriguing young player, and a handful of picks are the cheapest possible package for a player of Harden\u2019s caliber. Harden was playing at an All-Star level last season. He <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/10\/31\/analyzing-fantasy-basketball-impact-james-harden-trade\/\" target=\"_self\">provides<\/a> the Clippers with elite playmaking and perimeter scoring. Before the Harden trade, the Clippers were clearly in the outer circle of contenders. This move gives them more star power and an improved chance to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/10\/31\/2023-24-nba-power-rankings-76ers-and-clippers-after-blockbuster-deal\/\" target=\"_self\">compete<\/a> for a title at a cheap price.<\/p>\n<p>However, despite this move and its upside, I still have reservations with the Clippers. The core is aging, including their star and complementary players. Furthermore, the Clippers have not had substantial success in the playoffs with this core, and Harden likely won\u2019t change that. The Clippers stars <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/leonaka01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kawhi Leonard<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/georgpa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul George<\/a><\/strong> have suffered injuries leading to these postseason shortcomings. Harden has also struggled with injuries and has constantly played worse in the playoffs, making this star pairing risky. The core of Leonard, George, Harden, and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/westbru01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Russell Westbrook<\/a><\/strong> is overly repetitive, and the players don\u2019t complement each other enough. This move puts the Clippers all in with no draft capital and the entire star core on an expiring deal. Unless the Clippers wanted to kickstart a rebuild, this feels like a trade they had to make. Nevertheless, the trade is very risky for the aging Clippers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The three-month-long James Harden trade saga concluded in dramatic fashion. In the middle of the night, he was once again shipped to his preferred destination, this time the Los Angeles Clippers. Harden was focused on a Clippers trade after contract disputes led him to demand a trade from Philadelphia in June. Let\u2019s analyze this blockbuster [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4779,"featured_media":57897,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,2,27,13],"tags":[444,267,168,1382,50,2478],"class_list":["post-57891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-featured","category-clippers","category-76ers","tag-james-harden","tag-joel-embiid","tag-kawhi-leonard","tag-nba-trade","tag-paul-george","tag-tyrese-maxey"],"modified_by":"Kayla Fonte","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4779"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}