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The James Harden experience is officially over for the Philadelphia 76ers.
After months of speculation, Philadelphia shipped the disgruntled former NBA MVP to the Los Angeles Clippers in the early morning hours on Tuesday.
In return, the Clippers sent the Sixers veterans Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, Marcus Morris and young wing KJ Martin.
Philadelphia also acquired four draft picks in the deal – a pair of firsts and a pair of seconds – in addition to a future pick swap.
BREAKING: The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed on a trade to send guard James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/wAyuJKMfAw
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 31, 2023
The move should please all parties.
Harden lands in the his longtime preferred destination. Los Angeles lands the star point guard it has been chasing for months. And the Sixers recoup a number of draft assets in addition to expiring contracts.
But as we all know, this is the sports world. Which means one team has to have won and the other team clearly got fleeced.
There’s just one problem this time around.
Fans can’t seem determine which of the deal won and which side of the deal got got.
“Adam Silver should veto this trade how bad the Sixers got fleeced. Harden Literally got traded for a bag of corn chip Fritos and a Sunny Delight,” @trueblue1824 said of the deal on Twitter.
“The clippers got James harden for players who wouldn’t even get on the main court during Rico (sp) Hines pickup games 💀💀 fleeced The 76ers,” wrote @iam_johnw.
But not everybody saw things that way.
“Clippers gave up a lot, but that’s the cost of obtaining Harden’s stable leadership and playoff resume,” @gourmetspud tweeted.
“It’s wild that the Clippers gave up more for James Harden who’s now quit on 3 straight teams than the Bucks gave up for Lillard,” said @Burner_craig.
Only time will truly tell which team, if any, won the deal.
But for now, nobody seems to agree on which team that will be.