NBA rumors: Trae Young drops Hawks on Insta, Harden's only suitor, Kelly Oubre Jr. update
By Kyle Delaney
NBA Rumors: James Harden's only suitor
Earlier this summer, James Harden asked to be traded to the Clippers. According to ESPN's Zach Lowe and Bobby Marks, the Clippers are Harden's only viable option right now. Sounds like good news if you're Harden, right? Wrong. According to The Lowe Post podcast, the teams haven't talked in months. In Lowe's words, "I don’t think the two teams have been anywhere close to any of that kind of deal."
If you haven't been paying attention, things have turned pretty sour for Harden this summer. He got fined $100K for calling the Sixers' president of basketball operations a liar. The market interest he thought would be there isn't and, if you're an aging superstar, that's got to hurt.
"Certainly, if you talk to the Sixers, they have reason to say, “Oh, there’s a broad, frothy James Harden market out there.’ I really don’t think there is. I think it’s been mostly the Clippers"
- Zach Lowe on The Lowe Post Podcast
Much like Lillard and the Trail Blazers, Harden and the Sixers are at a standstill. Lowe believes it's imperative for Harden to show up to camp, as it'll benefit both parties.
Per Zach Lowe:
"The only play I see for the Sixers here is bring him to camp, hope…he plays pretty well, and the Clippers and some other teams with high expectations sputter over their first 20 games and get desperate."
- Zach Lowe on The Lowe Post Podcast
Lowe believes that, "If the Clippers were to put both (of their tradable) first-round picks in, even without Terrence Mann, I think there’s a two-team deal that exists that the Sixers would do," He even mentioned the Toronto Raptors, as they have multiple players entering contract years.
The Sixers seem to attract chaos. It started with Ben Simmons, now it's James Harden. Come training camp, we'll see how this all shakes out for the Sixers.