The Gryphon Gazette

By Rikhav S. ‘26

In the NBA, making a trade always gets a lot of attention, especially when a team’s star player is involved. A team makes a trade once they have a clear sense of their position in the league. The idea of a trade offers every team the opportunity to pursue their goals, with the best teams looking to strengthen their rosters in hopes of winning it all come June. Contrastingly, the less successful teams use this time to tear down their squads and rebuild their franchises for the future. The teams in the middle of it all face a more complex dilemma: they can either risk their futures to become real contenders, or they can abandon the risky championship glory to build for the long term. Overall, the trades are often decisions that will ultimately dictate how the season plays out. To better understand how this season could unfold, it’s time to look at the biggest trade from this NBA season: James Harden to the Clippers (November 1, 2023).

James Harden to the Clippers (Nov. 1)

Clippers get:

• James Harden
• P.J. Tucker
• Filip Petrusev

Sixers get: 

• Marcus Morris
• Nicolas Batum
• Robert Covington
• K.J. Martin
• 2024 first-round pick (protected, via Raptors)
• 2024 second-round pick (via Pacers or Raptors)
• 2024 second-round pick (via Jazz or Cavs)
• 2026 first-round pick (protected, via Thunder)
• 2028 first-round pick (unprotected, via Clippers)
• 2029 first-round pick swap (protected, via Clippers)
• 2029 second-round pick (via Clippers)
• Cash considerations

Thunder get: 

• Pick swap (from Clippers)
• Cash considerations (from Clippers)

Trade Review Grades for the Clippers and Sixers: 

Clippers Grade: A

James Harden, one of the strongest players in the league,  will no doubt be a Hall of Famer by the end of his career. He is capable of being a great playmaker and has been one of the most prolific scorers since he entered the NBA in 2009. Since joining the Clippers, James Harden has been shooting the best from behind the arc in his whole career at 45% on three-pointers. And since his acquisition, the Clippers have a 33-15 record and are 23-7 in their last 30 games. It’s safe to say that this has been a major success for the Clippers, who are looking like one of, if not, the best teams out of the Western Conference. As of now, this trade has put them in a great position in the current state of the league. The Clippers took a risk in trading for Harden, as they already had their ball-handler in Russell Westbrook, so the team dynamic was bound to change. However, Russell Westbrook has been more than happy to take a smaller role on the team in order to achieve their success. Another risk in this trade was sacrificing the long-term future of the team. This has proven not to be a problem, as the Sixers have set themselves up to be a real contender this year. They are well-deserving of an A grade.

Sixers Grade: A-

It wasn’t easy for the 76ers to find a trade for James Harden, as not many teams besides the Clippers were interested in him. However, this trade has been good for the Sixers, since they were able to get a lot of valuable draft capital in return. Additionally, in getting rid of James Harden, the Sixers were also able to eliminate the off-court distractions that he brought with him. An added bonus coming from this trade is that the removal of James Harden has allowed Tyrese Maxey, the 76ers’ promising guard, to blossom into a franchise player. This season, Maxey became an NBA All-Star for the first time in his career and is averaging a career-high 26.1 points per game. The 76ers already had one of the best rosters in the league, as they have the NBA’s reigning MVP in Joel Embiid. Allowing Maxey to form a dynamic duo with Embiid has proven to be a great move as the Sixers are 26-7 this season in games when both are on the court together. The 76ers have earned an A- for this trade, and are one of the teams to watch out for in the East.

Overall, both the Clippers and 76ers benefitted from this trade, so this is definitely a win-win. The two teams have used this trade to strengthen their respective championship goals for this season, and it is proving to pay off. At the end of the season, people will look back at this trade and understand just how much it changed the outcome of the season, as these teams will have a major say in who wins it all.