James Harden will officially suit up for the Los Angeles Clippers sometime soon after finally being traded to the franchise alongside longtime teammate P.J. Tucker. Harden was seen celebrating the trade with a bottle of champagne.
James Harden celebrating trade from Philly to LA. pic.twitter.com/tRQuIfy0Kx
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) October 31, 2023
Given we saw images of Harden and not a video, we don’t know how crazy the party could’ve been. It had to be something understated since this was earlier in the day and the Clippers had a game tonight. Even if Harden is not playing just yet, he’ll be respectful of his new teammates and not show up to work drunk on his first night with the team.
It’s unclear when Harden will make his debut with the franchise. The Clippers are in action against the Orlando Magic tonight and will face the Los Angeles Lakers on the second night of a back-to-back tomorrow. Debuting Harden against the Lakers could generate headlines around the world, but a bad performance and their first loss to their city rivals since 2020 could spoil the mood in a major way.
James Harden Hopes To Take Clippers To The Finals
The Clippers have never made the NBA Finals in its modern form, with their last Finals appearance coming as the Buffalo Braves. They left Buffalo in 1984, so they’ve had nearly 40 years to make a Finals with the team and have never succeeded. They’ve only had one Conference Finals appearance, coming in 2021, even though Kawhi Leonard tore his knee in the second round.
For a team put together with championship expectations in 2019, the Clippers have been unimpressive. A Conference Finals peak can’t be the ceiling for this team and acquiring Harden is a direct move to address that. Despite Harden not having made the NBA Finals since 2012, the Clippers hope his talent in addition to Kawhi and Paul George can lead to success for the franchise.
The Western Conference is extremely competitive this season, with very small margins between teams in the middle tier of the conference. The Clippers were among the top teams in that group, elevating themselves to genuine contenders alongside the Warriors, Lakers, Suns, and Nuggets.
The team eviscerated its depth to acquire Harden, trading away four players for Harden, P.J. Tucker, and Filip Petrusev. Petrusev isn’t expected to contribute to the Clippers this season, meaning the franchise needs to figure out how to replace the four players of frontcourt depth they just lost.
Terance Mann is expected to be playing on the forward line after often being employed as a backup guard. The Clippers could be in the market to make more moves after this deal, but we have to assume their current roster will get a chance over the next few months before the franchise decides if more additions are needed or available.
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