NBA News: James Harden is one of the more controversial players in the entire NBA, that continued this week. In a shocking move on Thursday, James Harden reportedly opted into his $35.6 player option with the Philadelphia 76ers. However, he won’t be doing it to stay in Philadelphia. The opt-in will be to work with the Sixers to explore trade opportunities. Now it is being reported that Harden himself has a preferred destination when he is traded.
James Harden Wants To Be Traded To The Los Angeles Clippers (NBA News)
According to a report from both Sam Amick and Kelly Iko of The Athletic, James Harden’s preferred trade destination is with the Los Angeles Clippers. The two teams are already in discussion, and Harden has likely played his last game with the 76ers because of how frustrated he is with how they handled his free agency. Here is the exact excerpt from Amick and Iko’s article:
“According to sources directly involved in the situation on both sides, the Los Angeles native wants to play for the Clippers and the Sixers are already in the process of discussing his desired move. Harden is, according to sources close to him, extremely upset at the way in which the Sixers handled his possible free agency and has made his dissatisfaction clear to the organization.
While it seems likely that he’ll land with the Clippers, it remains to be seen whether his longtime basketball partner, Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, will grant this unexpected wish. Sources say, however, that there is strong optimism on Harden’s side that it will indeed happen. Both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are said to be on board with the idea of Harden potentially joining their core, according to sources.”
The Milwaukee Bucks Have Been Linked To James Harden This Off-Season
The Milwaukee Bucks have been linked to James Harden by a few sources since his trade was announced. However, it is fairly unlikely that trade will ever happen. Sam Quinn of CBS Sports did published an article that highlighted a scenario where the Milwaukee Bucks could land the 33-year-old star:
And here’s our other super team possibility. The odds here are even more remote. The small-market Bucks are even less equipped to pay a major luxury tax bill (though they did get a bit of a cash infusion when Jimmy Haslam bought a stake in the team this offseason).
They’d also have to address Harden’s controversial 2020 comments about Giannis Antetokounmpo. “I wish I was 7-feet, and could run and just dunk. That takes no skill at all. I have to actually learn how to play basketball and how to have skill. I’ll take that every day.” Harden said at the time. There’s bad blood here.
But the Bucks have the matching salary in Grayson Allen, Bobby Portis, Marjon Beauchamp and Pat Connaughton. They have one tradable first-round pick (2029) and can offer swap rights on two others (2028 and 2030), and Beauchamp is probably worth a first-rounder himself.
If the price is low enough, there’s a viable deal here, and despite all of the depth it would cost Milwaukee, it’s worth noting that the Bucks were essentially willing to go into the 2020-21 season with their entire cap devoted to only five players when they nearly traded for Bogdan Bogdanovic. This would be a similar principle, albeit with a far better ball-handler.
As disliked as James Harden may be by Milwaukee Bucks fans, he’d bring an aspect to the game the team has been lacking in. Harden is the half-court shot-creator. The Bucks won a championship in 2021 with Khris Middleton primarily in that role, however, durability and consistency have been a concern for Middleton lately.
Even with the Bucks re-signing Middleton, they’re going to need someone else who can generate offense late in games. A five-man lineup of Harden, Middleton, Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez would be as well-rounded as any other team in the league. Still, it is unlikely to ever happen.
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