Harden saga comes to an end as 76ers make trade to Clippers official

The James Harden saga has officially come to an end… for the time being.

After reports surfaced in the wee hours of Tuesday morning that the disgruntled guard had been traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Philadelphia 76ers officially announced the deal Wednesday.

The official deal sent Harden, P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrušev to Los Angeles for Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, K.J. Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round draft pick, two second-round picks, a 2029 draft-pick swap and an additional 2026 first-rounder from the Oklahoma City Thunder after the Thunder and Clippers agreed to a 2027 first-round pick swap.

Harden joins Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook to shape a core group of veterans trying to win the Los Angeles Clippers their first NBA title in franchise history.

The 76ers are simply trying to move on from the Harden Headache and continue their own long shot bid at a championship behind reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid and star-in-waiting Tyrese Maxey.

Still, the longer the Harden melodrama lingered in Philly, the greater the chance the situation would eventually implode. Harden — now traded by Houston, Brooklyn and the 76ers in each of the past three seasons v had long wanted to play in Philadelphia.

Harden and team president Daryl Morey, who was not available Tuesday for comment, were first allies when they were in Houston. Harden was a league MVP and had scoring titles for the Rockets. But when the Rockets went into a rebuild, Harden issued his first ultimatum and forced his way to Brooklyn in 2021. He joined Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in a “Big Three” that was never very big. The trio was socked by injuries and other controversies and played only 18 games together before Harden wanted out.

So it was off to Philly at the 2022 trade deadline in a deal for Simmons.

He was reunited with Morey and seemed comfortable in his role as a playmaker while the offense ran through Embiid. Harden even declined his $47.4 million option in June 2022, saying he wanted to give the 76ers financial flexibility to improve their roster and compete for a championship. He signed a below-market deal worth slightly more than $68 million, paying him about $33 million last season with a $35.6 million player option for this one.

Harden led the NBA in assists last season with 10.7 per game, but it was his 22 total points in Games 6 and 7 losses that doomed the Sixers when they lost to Boston in the second round of the playoffs.

Part of Harden’s complaint with the Sixers stemmed from his belief he should have earned a long-term contract. When he didn’t, Harden was determined to sever ties with the Sixers, and called he Morey a liar at an August promotional event in China.

“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,” Harden said at the event. “Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”

While Eastern Conference powerhouses Boston and Milwaukee made bold pickups in the summer, the 76ers instead learned that Harden desired a trade to the Clippers.

He was a late arrival to training camp and continued to practice with the 76ers until he was told to stay home for the team’s first two road games in the wake of the trade demand. The lone time he spoke at practice, Harden said that his fractured relationship with Morey could not be repaired _ comparing it to a broken marriage. Nurse insisted Harden would not play until he met certain conditioning requirements. Harden wore street clothes and watched Sunday’s home opener from the bench.

Harden had been scheduled to practise with the 76ers on Tuesday.

Instead, he is a Clipper.

The 76ers are off until Thursday’s home game against Toronto. The Clippers play Tuesday night against Orlando. There was no immediate word when all the traded players would be available to their new teams.

— With files from the Associated Press