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The Los Angeles Clippers find themselves taken aback by a surprising request from one of their star players.
James Harden has expressed his desire to leave the Clippers, a revelation that reportedly left the organization “stunned,” as reported by ClutchPoints.
There have been “advanced” discussions between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Clippers regarding a potential trade involving Harden and Darius Garland. However, according to Sports Illustrated, no formal agreement had been reached as of Tuesday morning.
When asked about the possibility of trading Harden, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue chose not to comment directly but did commend Harden’s contributions to the team.
“He means a lot to our team, we’ve seen the last three years, so he means a lot,” Lue remarked.
He added when asked if he’d like to retain him: “Who wouldn’t want to have James Harden?”
Harden have bounced around teams and a potential trade could land him with his fifth team (Rockets, Nets, 76ers, Clippers) since the start of the 2020-21 season.
The Clippers reportedly did not expect to make a trade since the team has rebounded from its disastrous 6-21 start by winning 17 of 22 to pull to 23-26 and enter a Play-In Tournament spot.
The breaking point for Harden reportedly is that he would like a two-year, $80 million fully guaranteed contract after this season and the Clippers are unwilling to do so, per ClutchPoints.
Harden signed a two-year, $81.5 million deal prior to the 2025 season but only $13.3 million is guaranteed.
The Clippers reportedly are valuing cap space for the 2027 season and allocating a good chunk of that cap to a player who would be in his age-38 season doesn’t align.
That has Harden wanting to start anew, and trade talks have been going on for several weeks, according to ClutchPoints.
Harden sat out Sunday’s win over the Suns and Monday’s loss to the 76ers for “personal reasons,” and the NBA trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.
“Just be professional,” Lue said of how his team will handle trade rumors. “Just come to work every day ready to play.”
A Garland swap would send Harden and his 25.4 points per game to complement Donovan Mitchell, while landing the Clippers a 26-year-old averaging 18.0 points per game while battling injuries.
Harden has also eyed Atlanta and Minnesota as landing spots, per Jake Fischer, but he reported that neither is expected to ultimately land the 2018 MVP.
ClutchPoints reported that Harden is not interested in being dealt to the Raptors or Pelicans, who have both expressed interest.
He has veto power for any contract plus a 15 percent trade kicker, which could complicate the Clippers’ efforts.
Los Angeles actually hosts Cleveland on Wednesday in both teams’ final game before the trade deadline, with the cameras sure to centered on Harden and Garland.
Harden in his third season with Los Angeles after being traded from the 76ers early in the 2023-24 season.