Getty Image / Mitchell Leff
Earlier today, James Harden made a couple of big decisions about his future in the NBA.
The first was to opt in to the final year of his contract, which will pay him $35.6 million, instead of testing free agency and looking for more money.
The second decision was that he doesn’t want to spend that year with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Despite recent reports that Harden was expected to stay with the 76ers, he has decided that he wants to explore a trade and the organization is going to to work with him on that.
Despite the surprising nature of Harden’s decision, it seems the league hasn’t taken too long to react and there are already teams being linked to former NBA scoring champion.
According to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks are expected to be among the teams that engage in trade talks with the Philadelphia 76ers for Harden.
The Clippers and Knicks are expected to be among the teams that'll engage with the Sixers on a potential James Harden trade, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/NQ5Y6xkvAx
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2023
The Los Angeles Clippers could be in need of a point guard this offseason as Harden’s former teammate, Russell Westbrook, heads for free agency.
Harden could be a good fit for the Clippers thanks to his ability to distribute and spread and because the team’s two current star can pick up his slack on the defensive end of the floor.
However, what the Clippers would give up for him is a bit difficult to figure out. They don’t have much young talent and are light on tradable picks for the next few years. That might make them reluctant to trade away either of those things when their stars have been unable to stay healthy in the past.
The New York Knicks don’t have that issue. They have acquired quite a bit of future draft capital and could easily part with somebody like Obi Toppin who has flashed NBA-level talent, but is stuck behind Julius Randle in their rotation.
How Harden would fit for the Knicks is the bigger question. The Knicks just brought in Jalen Brunson at point guard last season and he excelled. However, he wasn’t nearly as impactful for the Mavs when Luka Doncic dominated the ball.
Maybe the Knicks believe they could get Harden to play off the ball as he began his NBA career as a shooting guard and played alongside Chris Paul for a while.
Harden also doesn’t really fit with the team’s defensive-minded head coach.
Still, it’s clear that James Harden is going to have contenders looking to trade for him this offseason. Maybe one of these two teams will be the one to land him.