The James Harden saga finally came to an end on Monday night, as the Los Angeles Clippers acquired him in a blockbuster trade from the Philadelphia 76ers. Harden had reportedly been set on joining the Clippers for months, and his arrival makes them quite a formidable team.
Starting Lineup: Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac
Bench: Bones Hyland, Norman Powell, Terance Mann, PJ Tucker, Mason Plumlee
One of the big issues whenever you put together these star-studded teams is the lack of depth, but that’s not the case for the Clippers. That’s a very solid bench that can be relied on to play significant minutes and PJ Tucker, who arrived as part of this Harden trade, could end up having a big impact for L.A..
This was only made possible by the fact that they managed to land Harden for next to nothing. The Clippers had to part with Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, and KJ Martin, along with their 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks, and a pick swap.
They’ll also be sending an additional first-round pick via a third team that has not been disclosed yet. There are certainly some risks involved when you trade for Harden, but at that price, it’s a no-brainer.
The Clippers Look Very Strong Now
Harden is reportedly ecstatic to be with the Clippers and I don’t blame him, because it looks like a terrific situation for the 10-time All-Star to be in now. It has become very clear in recent years, that he is no longer good enough to be the second option on a title-winning team, and with the Clippers, he doesn’t have to take that role.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George can take on the scoring burden and he can just focus on being a playmaker. Harden thrived on the Brooklyn Nets when he was the facilitator next to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and he now gets to take on a similar role here.
His arrival also solves the playmaking issues that the Clippers have had and takes some of that load off of Russell Westbrook as well. The onus is now on head coach Tyronn Lue to figure out how to put all of this together.
Can The Clippers Finally Get Over The Line?
The Clippers have been touted as one of the favorites for the title at the start of basically every season since 2019-20 but have never managed to come particularly close to getting over the line in all these years. So, will this finally be it?
Well, this Harden trade does solve some of the issues with this team, but the biggest question mark surrounding them remains health. Unless Leonard and George can stay healthy in the playoffs, they are not going to win it all.
While Harden’s presence would help if one of these two went down, it has become very clear that you cannot rely on him as a second option in the playoffs, as I mentioned earlier. While I have no reason to strongly believe the two can stay upright, if we assume that they will for once, then the Clippers could get it done.
They are loaded with talent and have one of the best head coaches in the league in Lue. Crucially, this trade going down so early on also gives them plenty of time to fully integrate Harden into the setup. You’d ideally have wanted him to get a preseason with this group, but this was the next best outcome.
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