Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Philadelphia Sixers have ended trade talks involving James Harden, and are committed to bringing him to training camp. The Sixers and Clippers had discussions on Harden, but no deal was even close to imminent, and now the discussions have apparently closed entirely (for now).
That’s not to say this is over. In Wojnarowski’s tweet chain, he states that Harden has been emphatic about demanding a trade, and there’s no reporting that he’s now all of a sudden fine with returning to Philly. The Sixers are gambling that his friendship with key players on the team and not wanting to set what might remain of his career earnings on fire by holding out or sabotaging another situation will keep him in line. They could bet correctly, but history says Harden will not be happy, and will not be giving his all in Philly, to some extent or another.
The Clippers, apparently, were not willing to budge much on the trade package for Harden. I’m curious to see what the demarcations were. At some points, there was reporting they weren’t willing to offer Norman Powell, which to me is absolutely ludicrous. Were they not willing to offer Terance Mann? Not willing to send over even a lottery protected first? Or was Philly demanding two firsts and Mann and not budging from that insane request? Hopefully we get a bit more clarity into what some of the discussions were.
As for the Clippers, I don’t think they’re done yet even with Harden off the table. Both Marcus Morris and Robert Covington have expressed dissatisfaction, and it really doesn’t make any sense to have both of them on the roster next season along with Nic Batum and Kenyon Martin Jr. My guess is at least one if not both of them is gone, whether by trade or even a stretch and waive. Outside of that, Jason Preston’s situation is still up in the air, but that’s very minor.
If no other big trade materializes, this is likely more or less the roster we will see come training camp. How do you all feel about this?