Why the Clippers Opted to Trade James Harden Despite Being NBA’s Hottest Team

The Clippers have waved the white flag on the Kawhi Leonard and James Harden era. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Clippers traded James Harden to the Cavaliers this week for Darius Garland. On Friday ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne published a story about how it doesn’t really sound like either side wanted to part ways. Harden wanted to play in Los Angeles, the team really liked him and they were winning and yet here we are.

According to Shelburne, the team’s horrific 6–21 start started the dominoes in motion and not even a 15–3 hot streak that resulted in a fan literally eating a tweet could stop it. Shelburne reports that both Harden and the team seemed to feel that run was fool’s gold so they decided to amicably part ways.

Because this separation was as much a mutual recognition as it is a larger admission. Harden and the team realized that the team’s torrid run—the Clippers have been the NBA’s hottest team since Christmas Day, winning 71% of their games—probably wasn’t sustainable. So they traded Harden and while they will play tonight for the first time since the trade, they have already lost three of their last four. A self-fulfilling prophecy perhaps?

Phillips: James Harden-Darius Garland Trade Grades

According to Shelburne, the beginning of the end for Harden and Los Angeles came when the franchise didn’t give him a new deal over the summer. It sounds like Harden wanted to make things work, but the Clippers were ready to move on.

In the meantime, Harden led the team in minutes and assists and played in 44 of the team’s first 47 games. And yet they chose to stick with Kawhi Leonard, who is healthy right now, but just two years younger than Harden and has never once in his career appeared in as many games in a single season as Harden did last season at age 35.

Leonard will make $50 million again next season in the final year of his current contract. While the team has made the playoffs in five of the first six years Leonard has been with them, he has appeared in just 35 of 50 playoff games over that stretch and they haven’t made it out of the first round in five years.

Mannix: NBA Trade Deadline Winners and Losers

His contract will be a hot topic of conversation not just because he'd be an intriguing target for a number of teams, but because of the Aspiration scandal that may or may not have affected his previous deals. The Clippers have denied that has anything to do with the Harden trade, but until the NBA finally speaks on the matter, speculation will remain.

Either way, Harden is gone. And for now the official story is that the team didn’t believe their roster led by two superstars could possibly continue to play so well. And by trading Harden away we’ll never know if they were right.

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