Los Angeles Clippers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Sixers Notes: New Additions, Oubre, Trade Targets, Harden

November 1st, 2023 at 2:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The four players the Sixers acquired in their James Harden trade with the Clippers – Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, and Kenyon Martin Jr. – arrived at the team’s facility on Wednesday but are unlikely to play on Thursday vs. Toronto, tweets Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Saturday’s home game against Phoenix is a more realistic target for those newcomers, Mizell adds.

Meanwhile, even though Harden hadn’t played yet this season for the 76ers, the deal removes a starter from the team’s lineup — since arriving in Philadelphia in 2022, P.J. Tucker had started all 89 regular season and playoff games he’d played for the club.

Forward Kelly Oubre will start in Tucker’s place for now, head coach Nick Nurse told reporters on Wednesday, but that may not be a permanent change. As Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports explains (via Twitter), Nurse has said he likes the spark Oubre has provided off the bench, so he may want to return Oubre to that role once Morris, Batum, Covington, and Martin are up to speed, with one of those ex-Clippers moving into the starting five.

Here’s more on the Sixers:

Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype and Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscriber link) each identified some players the Sixers may target on the trade market using their newly acquired draft assets, weighing the likelihood of those players becoming available this season and evaluating whether Philadelphia has the pieces to land them. A pair of Bulls (Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan) and Raptors (Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby) show up on both lists, which also feature a few other names.
The draft assets the Sixers are receiving and their ability to move on from the Harden saga have been frequently cited in the last 36 hours as the most important aspects of Philadelphia’s trade with the Clippers. But the deal will also improve the 76ers’ depth, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who notes that Tucker’s role had declined, Filip Petrusev wasn’t ready for rotation minutes as a rookie, and Harden – of course – had yet to actually suit up for a game this season.
When Harden showed up for the Sixers’ team flight last Wednesday after the team asked him to stay behind in Philadelphia and he wasn’t permitted to board the plane, it “inflamed the situation” on both sides and represented the “final straw” in the club’s efforts to reincorporate him, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Trade discussions with the Clippers resumed a couple days later and picked up steam after that, per Shelburne.
Shelburne’s story on Harden’s final days is chock full of interesting tidbits, including the fact that Harden communicated directly with head coach Nick Nurse, general manager Elton Brand, and owner Josh Harris after making his trade request, but would only communicate with president Daryl Morey through agent Michael Silverman.
Shelburne also hears from sources that Harden’s camp became convinced ahead of free agency in June that if he declined his option, Morey and the 76ers only intended to offer him a two-year deal with a second-year team option. The team, wary of gun-jumping after being penalized for it in 2022, insisted it would make a strong offer once free agency opened, but Harden “didn’t buy it,” Shelburne writes.

More Details On James Harden Trade

November 1st, 2023 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

The formal press releases sent out by the Sixers, Clippers, and Thunder following the completion of the James Harden trade earlier today included some new details on the deal.

Among those details? The Sixers will only have the ability to swap 2029 first-round picks with the Clippers if Los Angeles’ pick isn’t in the top three; Philadelphia acquired cash in the trade; and the Thunder will have the ability to swap either their own 2027 first-round pick or the Nuggets’ 2027 first-round pick (top-five protected) for the Clippers’ ’27 first-rounder.

Those announcements didn’t address a few other aspects of the deal though, which Bobby Marks of ESPN has provided (via Twitter):

The Clippers sent out $3.1MM in cash in the trade, per Marks — $2MM to Philadelphia and $1.1MM to Oklahoma City. As Marks notes, this is the last season in which teams whose salaries are over the second tax apron will be able to send out cash in a trade.
In addition to the $559,782 trade exception the Sixers created by trading Filip Petrusev (whose salary is only partially guaranteed), the team generated a TPE worth $6,831,413, according to Marks. As we outlined on Tuesday, that means Philadelphia adhered to the salary-matching rules for over-the-apron teams, which restrict those clubs from taking back more than 110% of their outgoing salary. The 76ers could have used the more lenient salary-matching rules for teams below both tax aprons to create a trade exception worth $11MM+, but that would have hard-capped the club at the first apron ($172.3MM) for the rest of 2023/24 — the route Philadelphia chose won’t create a hard cap.
As we reported earlier today, Harden received a $40,595 trade bonus as part of the deal. His full trade bonus was worth $5MM+, but $40,595 was the maximum portion he could receive based on the Clippers’ ability to match incoming salaries. According to Marks (Twitter link), that bonus will create an additional $233,421 in projected luxury tax penalties for the Clippers, though Philadelphia is responsible for paying the bonus itself.

Pacific Notes: Booker, Beal, Goodwin, Mann, Powell, Lakers, Warriors

November 1st, 2023 at 11:47am CST by Luke Adams

There’s no specific timetable for the return of either Devin Booker (ankle) or Bradley Beal (back), Suns head coach Frank Vogel said on Tuesday, per Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (Twitter links). Both players have been doing some on-court work, but it has mostly been light shooting, so they haven’t fully ramped up for game action yet.

While Beal has yet to make his Suns debut, Jordan Goodwin – the other player the team acquired in that blockbuster summer deal – has been playing regular minutes in his first four games in Phoenix.

Known known more as a defender, Goodwin has provided some scoring and play-making off the bench with Booker and Beal out, writes Dana Scott of The Arizona Republic. He has made just 34.3% of his shots from the floor, but has posted solid averages of 8.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 21.0 minutes per night.

“Just take advantage of the opportunity. Once we get all of our guys back, those shots, the ones I’m taking right now are gonna be even more open,” Goodwin told Scott over the weekend.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Clippers wings Terance Mann and Norman Powell were mentioned frequently in James Harden trade rumors in recent months, so they were relieved not to be on the move in the deal L.A. eventually made for the star guard, per Mark Medina of Sportskeeda. “It shows the value that they see in us,” Powell said. “You always want that as a player in a league like this: to find a team, organization, and front office that believes in your ability, believes in what you bring to the table, and believes you can help them win at a high level.”
After promising to make tweaks to his rotation following Sunday’s loss to Sacramento, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham leaned on bigger lineups in Monday’s victory over Orlando, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Both Christian Wood (27) and Jaxson Hayes (10) set new season highs in minutes played, as the team frequently deployed a second big man alongside Anthony Davis. “Whenever (Wood is) in there with (Davis), they’re just two huge presences on the defensive glass,” Ham said. “Christian gets some of the toughest defensive rebounds I’ve ever seen anyone get. So, he and (Davis) being combined for, I think it was 25 defensive rebounds, we needed every one of them.”
Although it’s a small sample size, the Warriors‘ second unit is thriving and the team’s depth has been a strength in the early going this season, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic and Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. Stephen Curry believes the strong play of the second unit – led by Chris Paul – is having a ripple effect on the starters. “That’s different for us, when that unit is so impactful,” Curry said, per Slater. “We’re over on the bench enjoying what we’re watching. When you’re watching good basketball, you feel good about how we’re all playing. It flows.”

Sixers Trade James Harden To Clippers In Three-Team Deal

November 1st, 2023 at 10:45am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

NOVEMBER 1: The trade is official, according to press releases from all three teams. The terms of the deal are as follows:

Clippers acquire James Harden, P.J. Tucker, and Filip Petrusev.
Sixers acquire Marcus Morris; Nicolas Batum; Robert Covington; Kenyon Martin Jr.; the Clippers’ 2028 first-round pick (unprotected); either the Rockets’ (top-four protected), Clippers’, or Thunder’s 2026 first-round pick (whichever is least favorable); the right to swap their own 2029 first-round pick with the Clippers’ 2029 first-round pick (top-three protected); a 2024 second-round pick (details below); the Clippers’ 2029 second-round pick; and cash ($2MM; from Clippers).
- Note: The 2024 second-round pick acquired by the Sixers will be either the Raptors’, Pacers’, Jazz’s, or Cavaliers’ pick, whichever is most favorable. If either the Jazz’s or Cavaliers’ pick is the most favorable, Philadelphia would instead receive the second-most favorable of the four.
Thunder acquire the right to swap either their own 2027 first-round pick or the Nuggets’ 2027 first-round pick (top-five protected) for the Clippers’ 2027 first-round pick (unprotected) and cash ($1.1MM; from Clippers).

As expected, Danny Green was waived by the Sixers in order to make room for the incoming players.

Harden received the maximum portion of his trade bonus ($40,595) that he could while still making the deal legal for salary-matching purposes, Hoops Rumors has learned.

OCTOBER 31: The Sixers are shipping star guard James Harden to the Clippers, his latest destination of choice, sources inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

According to Wojnarowski, Philadelphia is sending out Harden, veteran forward P.J. Tucker and rookie center Filip Petrusev to Los Angeles in exchange for forwards Kenyon Martin Jr., Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum and Robert Covington, plus some significant future draft equity.

The 76ers will receive the Clippers’ 2028 unprotected first-round draft pick, two second-rounders and a 2029 pick swap, as well as an additional first-round pick. That extra first-round pick the Sixers are acquiring in the blockbuster deal is a 2026 first-rounder that had been controlled by the Thunder, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the Thunder will receive a 2027 first-round pick swap from the Clippers in exchange for that 2026 first-rounder. Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports reports (via Twitter) that the 2026 first-round selection the Thunder are trading to Philadelphia will be the least favorable of the Clippers’ pick, OKC’s own pick, and Houston’s selection (top-four protected).

The two second-round picks the Clippers are trading to the Sixers are 2024 and 2029 selections, sources tell Wojnarowski. The ’29 pick will be Los Angeles’ own, but the Clips have already traded away their own 2024 second-round pick, so the other second-rounder in this deal will be one of two others that L.A. controls (one is Toronto’s pick; the other could be Indiana’s, Utah’s, or Cleveland’s).

Philadelphia wing Danny Green is being cut to create an open roster spot for the new additions from the Clippers, sources tell Wojnarowski. Green’s salary had only been partially guaranteed for $200K.

According to Wojnarowski, the Sixers and Clippers – who have had conversations about Harden for months – began talking again over the weekend following L.A.’s recent “pause” in negotiations, with Philadelphia recognizing it was becoming increasingly untenable to incorporate Harden back into its lineup.

This will bring the latest Harden trade request saga to a close. The 10-time All-Star opted into the final season of his current contract, worth $35.6MM, and immediately requested a trade rather than joining a new team in free agency. It was the third time in three years that he had sought a change of scenery via trade — he was originally dealt from Houston to Brooklyn in 2021, then from Brooklyn to Philadelphia in 2022.

Following his June trade request, Harden made some explosive comments over the summer about Sixers team president Daryl Morey, calling him a “liar” and saying he had no intention of being part of the same organization as Morey. When the NBA launched an investigation into those comments, Harden informed league investigators that he called Morey a liar because he told the former MVP he’d be traded “quickly” after he asked to be moved. The incident cost him $100K.

Harden skipped media day and the first day of training camp before reporting to the 76ers this fall. He participated in just one 5-on-5 scrimmage and no preseason games before leaving the team again for what was described as a personal matter, only to return after a 10-day absence. He has missed all of Philadelphia’s regular season games to this point as he continues to ramp up to game shape.

Harden struggled with injuries in 2022/23. Though the 34-year-old was clearly no longer in his athletic prime, he remained his prolific self while playing alongside eventual MVP Joel Embiid. Across 58 regular season contests, he averaged 21.0 points per game on .441/.385/.867 shooting, also contributing 10.7 assists, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per night.

According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Harden is “ecstatic” to be joining the Clippers alongside fellow Southern California natives Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook. Los Angeles has long sought a play-making point guard who can stretch the floor alongside its two star forwards and will now insert Harden into that role for at least the 2023/24 season.

Harden is on an expiring contract and won’t become extension-eligible before reaching unrestricted free agency next July. Leonard, George, and Westbrook all have 2024/25 player options, so they could also hit the open market after the season if things don’t go well in L.A., though Leonard and George remain eligible to sign extensions before then.

Harden is hoping to fly to Los Angeles right away and there’s a chance he’ll attend the Clippers’ home game against Orlando on Tuesday, Shelburne adds, though it will likely still be a few days before he makes his debut for his new team.

It remains to be seen whether or not the Clippers will hang onto Petrusev, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic, though Tucker is in their plans.

While the Sixers won’t land Terance Mann – whose inclusion in the deal was long believed to be a sticking point – they’ll acquire four players on expiring contracts and get out from under Tucker’s 2024/25 player option, further increasing their cap flexibility for the summer of 2024. They project to have between $50-65MM in space next offseason, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

The draft assets and expiring contracts the Sixers are acquiring from Los Angeles also put Philadelphia in position to make another pre-deadline trade to further reinforce its roster. The 76ers are expected to scour the trade market for another “high-level guard,” writes Wojnarowski.

The four players the Sixers are adding in this deal will be ineligible to have their salaries aggregated in a separate trade for the next two months, but could be flipped immediately as long as they’re not being combined with other players for salary-matching purposes.

Meanwhile, as Marks observes (via Twitter), Harden’s contract includes a $5.1MM trade bonus, which Philadelphia would be responsible for paying. However, based on the terms that have been reported so far, he would have to waive most or all of that bonus for the trade to be legal.

The Clippers’ projected luxury tax bill is projected to increase by approximately $29MM once the deal is finalized, Marks adds (via Twitter), while the Sixers’ projected tax bill will dip by $13.4MM.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Clippers Notes: Trade, Harden, Tucker, Westbrook

November 1st, 2023 at 9:04am CST by Luke Adams

Four rival scouts and three executives who spoke to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times about the Clippers‘ trade for James Harden were split on what the team gave up and how significant an impact the former MVP will have on the roster.

“This is something that can go two, three different ways, but a motivated Harden is a good Harden,” one scout said. “I think we’ll get a hard-playing James. Now when the playoffs come, that’s always interesting how he regresses. But I think we’ll see some big-game James in the coming months.”

As Greif writes, some of the sources he spoke to believed the cost to acquire Harden was about right, but pointed out that it will be a lot to have surrendered if he ends up being a one-year rental. Others are curious about how the “pecking order” will play out in Los Angeles, given how many ball-dominant players the Clippers now have on their roster in Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook.

“I’m not saying it can’t work. I think it can,” another scout said. “They’re clearly better with James Harden in terms of talent, skill and basketball IQ. But how’s it all going to shake out? I don’t see how — with the willingness of these guys seems to be there to make it work — that it wouldn’t work. But sometimes the best-laid plans don’t always go the way you think. I understand why the Clippers did it.”

Here’s more on the Clippers:

Mark Medina of Sportsnaut writes that the Clippers’ acquisition of Harden is a big gamble that could result in a big payoff, while Jim Alexander of The Southern California News Group believes that it’s a roll of the dice that isn’t worth the risk.
While the trade between the Clippers and Sixers hasn’t been officially finalized and announced, Harden and P.J. Tucker arrived in Los Angeles on Tuesday and greeted their new teammates in the Clippers’ locker room, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Westbrook, who also played with Harden in Oklahoma City and Houston, told reporters with a smile that he wouldn’t discuss the trade until it was official, but didn’t dispute that he’s happy about the impending move. “Yeah,” he repeatedly said. “I mean, s–t, why wouldn’t I be? Yeah, excuse my language, but definitely, definitely happy.” Harden offered a briefer answer when asked by a reporter how excited he is to be a Clipper: “You don’t understand.”
Even before the acquisition of Harden, Westbrook had been happy playing for the Clippers, notes Youngmisuk (via Twitter). Asked on Tuesday about it, Westbrook said he’s grateful to have been embraced by the organization and has rediscovered the joy of playing basketball since joining the team last season.
There’s an expectation that the trade will become official on Wednesday, but Harden and Tucker likely won’t play in tonight’s game vs. the Lakers, per Youngmisuk. The Clippers will have four days off after Wednesday’s contest, which they can use to prepare their new-look roster for Monday’s game in New York.

More Harden Trade Notes: Maxey, Tucker, Westbrook, More

October 31st, 2023 at 3:41pm CST by Luke Adams

After hearing about the trade that will send his former backcourt partner James Harden to Los Angeles, Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey sent a message to the 10-time All-Star to thank him for everything he’s taught Maxey since they teamed up in 2022, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

“I texted him and I told him I love him, told him I appreciate him,” Maxey said. “One thing that he really installed in me is confidence. I’ve always been a confident person, but he made me be even more confident than I already was, and all I can do is appreciate him for that. He took me under his wing, taught me a lot of things as far as just being a professional in this league and how things go. So I appreciate him, and I love him. Same thing with Tuck (P.J. Tucker). Love those guys.”

While the trade with the Clippers will theoretically eliminate a “cloud of uncertainty” that had hung over the Sixers in recent months, Maxey believes the team had already been doing well in not letting the Harden saga become a distraction, per Bontemps.

“I think we’ve done a good job of keeping the main thing, the main thing, and I think that’s what’s gotten us all to a solid start,” Maxey said. “We have some really good guys that are focused, that are determined to go out there and play and, and show what we can do and, and coach that’s keeping our mind in the right place.”

Here are a few more notes on the Harden deal:

The first week of the regular season couldn’t have gone much better for Maxey, as he embraced the lead guard role and was named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week. Was his hot start the impetus for the Sixers to make their Harden move now? Dan Devine explores that topic in a column for Yahoo Sports.
While Tucker obviously isn’t the headliner in this trade, he may be the sort of versatile frontcourt defender that head coach Tyronn Lue has been seeking behind starting center Ivica Zubac, writes Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. As Fischer observes, Patrick Beverley has long been a favorite of the Clippers’ front office and Tucker should bring a similar brand of toughness to the team.
What happens next for both the Clippers and Sixers will be crucial in determining whether the deal is a win, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who notes that Los Angeles now has several stars on potential expiring deals while Philadelphia will likely return to the trade market seeking another impact player. Hollinger also wonders if Russell Westbrook will assume a sixth man role for the Clippers rather than share the starting lineup with three ball-dominant players like Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George, and points out that the 76ers are a Furkan Korkmaz salary dump away from sneaking below the luxury tax line.
A Monday phone call between Sixers owner Josh Harris and Clippers owner Steve Ballmer helped push the deal over the finish line, according to Shams Charania of Stadium (Twitter video link).
Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports takes a look back at Harden’s tenure in Philadelphia, writing that the way it ended should come as no surprise.

Harden Trade Notes: TPE, Hard Cap, Sixers’ Next Targets, More

October 31st, 2023 at 11:15am CST by Luke Adams

The size of the traded player exception the Sixers create in their James Harden deal with the Clippers will depend on whether or not they’re comfortable being hard-capped at the first tax apron ($172.3MM), notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

Philadelphia could complete the trade using either the more lenient salary-matching rules for teams below both tax aprons or using the more restrictive matching rules for apron teams, which prohibit clubs from taking back more than 110% of their outgoing salary (plus $250K).

Going the latter route would result in a smaller trade exception ($6.8MM), but would avoid creating a hard cap; the former route would mean a bigger TPE ($11MM) but would leave Philadelphia just $2.8MM below a hard cap. I’d expect the 76ers – who want to make another trade or two before February’s deadline – to settle for the smaller TPE to avoid limiting their cap flexibility, but that’s just my speculation.

Here’s more on the Harden blockbuster:

Which players might the Sixers target in pre-deadline trades using the draft assets they’re acquiring for Harden? According to Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link), the “early chatter” on names to watch includes Bulls guard Zach LaVine and Raptors forward OG Anunoby. Based on Mannix’s wording, it sounds like that may just be speculation from rival executives rather than anything concrete from Sixers sources.
Zach Harper of The Athletic gives the Clippers a B-minus grade and the Sixers a C-minus grade for the trade, expressing surprise that Philadelphia didn’t get Terance Mann or Norman Powell as part of the return for Harden. In a separate Athletic story, Harper shares five reasons why he doesn’t love the deal for either side, including the fact that Russell Westbrook has played well since being traded to the Clippers and will now have his role adjusted.
While Harden and Westbrook will once again have to figure out how to coexist in a backcourt after stints together in Oklahoma City and Houston, there’s no conflict between the two guards, who have long “maintained a line of communication,” a league source tells Law Murray of The Athletic.
Filip Petrusev isn’t expected to be a contributor for the Clippers, a team source tells Murray. If Los Angeles were to waive the rookie big man, the team would open up a second spot on its 15-man roster and would only be on the hook for his partial guarantee ($559,782) rather than his full $1,119,563 salary, assuming that guarantee isn’t being increased as part of the trade.
In his story on the trade, Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times writes that the Clippers weren’t in “Harden-or-bust” mode. In fact, some people with the team believe L.A. came “extremely close” to winning the bidding for Jrue Holiday a few weeks ago, Greif writes. If the Clippers had landed Holiday, it’s unclear how the Harden saga would’ve been resolved.

Mann Sheds Walking Boot, Doesn't Practice

October 30th, 2023 at 10:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Clippers guard Terance Mann (sprained ankle) has shed his walking boot but didn’t practice on Monday, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Mann has yet to make his season debut.

Clippers Exercise Bones Hyland’s Fourth-Year Option

October 30th, 2023 at 7:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers are exercising Bones Hyland‘s 2024/25 fourth-year option, Law Murray of The Athletic tweets. The move is official, per RealGM’s transaction log.

Hyland will make $4,158,439 in ’24/25 after earning $2,306,400 this season.

The Clippers acquired Hyland from Denver for a pair of second-rounders at last year’s trade deadline. A late first-round pick in 2021, Hyland publicly pushed for a bigger role with the Nuggets and they ultimately decided to move on from him. Hyland hasn’t enjoyed an expanded role since the trade but seems more settled and happier in Los Angeles.

Hyland appeared in 111 regular season games with the Nuggets and 14 more with the Clippers last season. He’s off to a solid start on Los Angeles’ second unit this season, averaging 15.7 points and 1.7 assists in 21.7 minutes per game.

Marcus Morris Misses His Third Straight Game

October 30th, 2023 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Clippers forward Marcus Morris missed his third straight game Sunday, with “coach’s decision” being the explanation, tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. However, coach Tyronn Lue said Morris is “very involved, and he’s been great, especially with our young guys.”