Sixers End Failed Harden Experiment While Clippers Hope That Harden Will be A Happy Camper
The James Harden concert tour is heading west: the Philadelphia 76ers shipped James Harden to the L.A. Clippers in exchange for Nicholas Batum, Robert Covington, Kenyon Martin Jr., Marcus Morris Sr., and several draft picks. The Clippers also received P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrusev from the 76ers. No offense to the players acquired by the 76ers, but it is fascinating that 2018 regular season MVP Harden--who was also selected to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team--has been traded for players who have never made the All-Star team even once and are unlikely to make the All-Star team in the future.
Daryl Morey ranked James Harden ahead of Michael Jordan as a scorer when Harden played for Morey's Houston Rockets, and Morey could not contain his joy when a disgruntled Harden forced his way out of Brooklyn to Philadelphia, where Morey is now the President of Basketball Operations; after Morey swooped in and traded Ben Simmons to Brooklyn for Harden less than two years ago, I concluded my analysis of that trade by stating, "It will be amusing watching Harden's inevitable playoff collapse ensure that the 76ers are not rewarded for trying to 'tank to the top.' That prediction proved to be 100% correct. In 23 playoff games with the 76ers, Harden averaged 19.4 ppg on .399 field goal shooting as the 76ers lost in the second round in 2022 and 2023.
In Harden's final playoff game with the 76ers he added yet another entry to his horrific elimination game resume, scoring nine points on 3-11 field goal shooting while committing five turnovers as the Boston Celtics routed the 76ers, 112-88. That kind of performance--featuring more turnovers committed than field goals made--should be defined as a "Harden," because it is Harden's specialty: Harden pulled off a "Harden" in three of his seven 2023 playoff games versus the Celtics, and during a six game stretch in the 2023 playoffs Harden had 32 field goals made and 30 turnovers committed, narrowly missing averaging a "Harden" for the equivalent of an entire playoff series.
Morey remains an unrepentant Harden fan. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne recently quoted Morey's current take on Harden's legacy: "James changed my life. He's one of the all-time greats. As time goes on, people will think about him in much more historic terms. What he did to change the game and change the NBA will get recognized more as the Twitterverse and the people who don't understand how good he is fade away."
Morey has it backwards (as he often does): anyone who critiqued Harden and Morey for not understanding what it takes to win a championship will only gain credibility over time, while many of the highly paid commentators of recent years will eventually be relegated to much-deserved obscurity. The notion that Harden was ever as good as Jordan is demonstrably absurd and will not stand the test of time, but an analytical examination of the flaws in Harden's game (and the flaws in Morey's "advanced basketball statistics") is timeless basketball wisdom.
The funny thing about this trade is that Morey won in spite of himself. Whatever he did that resulted in Harden repeatedly calling him out publicly as a liar forced the 76ers to get rid of one of the worst playoff chokers of all-time, so the 76ers are better now than they were the past two seasons with Harden--though that may change depending on who Morey swoons over next, and how he decides to spend the draft picks that he has acquired.
Meanwhile, it is difficult to understand why the Clippers treasure the trash that has been dumped in the past four years by Houston, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia. Even after Wednesday's come from ahead overtime loss to the L.A. Lakers, the Clippers started the season 3-2 without Harden. ESPN's insightful analyst Tim Legler declared that the Harden trade does not change his evaluation of the Clippers at all because the Clippers had enough talent to be a contender even without Harden. Legler stated that the Clippers' fate depends primarily on whether or not Kawhi Leonard is healthy during the playoffs. Legler is right in the sense that Leonard is the Clippers' main star, but I would argue that the Harden trade is not just a lateral move in terms of the Clippers' championship hopes: Harden is a proven malcontent with a long track record of playoff choking, so the combination of Harden's inevitable bad attitude with his inevitable postseason disappearing act will likely harm the Clippers.
Labels: Daryl Morey, James Harden, L.A. Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers
posted by David Friedman @ 9:40 PM
6 Comments:
I’m a bit surprised and disappointed that the Clippers actually acquired Harden. It seems that Harden was awarded for his petulance and the Clippers have unknowingly created serious issues for their team. The situation with Harden and Westbrook is going to get especially knotted in terms of who is going to initiate the offense. I’m sure that Westbrook will play hard regardless of what his role is but I can’t imagine Harden accepting a role where he cannot do his signature dribbling charade. The only way this works is if Harden agrees to come off the bench and be the fourth option for this team but something tells me Harden will not be open to that situation, the same way he hasn’t been open to any situation with the numerous teams he has sulked his way onto and off of.
Michael:
I am not surprised because the Clippers and Harden both made no secret that this was their desired outcome.
Harden is delusional about his abilities and impact, and the yawning gap between what he can provide and what he thinks he can provide will only grow as he gets older and his skills decline.
I suppose the Clippers assume that Harden--who is durable during the regular season when he is not pouting--can provide insurance in case Leonard or George miss games due to injury, but if the Clippers think that Harden can help them in the playoffs then they are delusional.
Leonard and George played the most efficient and effective basketball of their Clipper careers since Westbrook joined the team. To the extent that Westbrook's role is diminished, the Clippers will suffer.
@David
Thank you. All I've been reading is pundits/writers suggesting how Westbrook should be moved to run the bench. Yet, PG has looked like a fringe MVP candidate again this year alongside Russ. It's insanity to me that the Clippers traded for Harden. They gave up depth and future draft capital for a guy who has proven over and over and over again that he is a selfish player who has made zero effort to modify his game in the slightest.
To me, Harden is the one that should man the bench unit. T Mann (when he returns) should start with Russ, PG, Kawhi and Zubac. Harden is his own "system" and therefore can destroy opposing teams' second units. It's a win win for everyone as he'll be able to monopolize the ball and do his thing with good shooters and an athletic roll man (as long as Plumlee can return relatively soon). He's also been playing with PJ Tucker for multiple years, so it makes sense to keep them together. Harden could average 20 and 8 and win sixth man of the year if he embraced that role.
Of course, this isn't what is going to happen. And as we saw last night...the results of PG, Kawhi, Russ and Harden starting together are horrific.
Jordan:
You're welcome!
If Harden ever is a contributor to a championship team, it will be as a sixth man. I said that a decade ago, and I stand by it today.
Hello David,
Does not seem like the Harden experiment is working out for the Clippers. Maybe they will figure something out eventually but seems like they should mitigate the damage and deal him away to a team desperate enough to entertain his delusions of grandeur. I think that benching him is more likely to contribute to further pouting on Harden's part and create further team distraction and drama before it ever tames his ego. Very confusing trade and move by a team that seemed to be doing well in the first five games of the season.
Keith:
The Harden experiment has been an unmitigated disaster for the Clippers, and it is worth noting that the 76ers without Harden look better than they did with Harden. Harden does not play in a way that is conducive to sustained team success. I've said it for a decade, and I will keep saying it until he proves me wrong, which will not happen.
The Clippers should send Harden home the same way that the Rockets sent Carmelo Anthony home a few years ago. I thought that Melo, Stephon Marbury, and Gilbert Arenas were the kings of empty calorie numbers, but Harden puts them all too shame in terms of the incredible gap between his honors won versus his impact on winning. Every time I see Harden play I think of the old Mike Singletary rant about wanting winners and preferring to play 10 on 11 (in football) instead of having a player on the field who is not about winning (though the player he referenced, Vernon Davis, actually learned from that moment and credited Singletary for saving his career).
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