James Harden has requested a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers and wants to get traded to the Los Angeles Clippers so he can play with Russell Westbrook again, according to NBA insider Joey Linn of Sports Illustrated.
Harden and Westbrook were teammates on the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets. The two superstars, who are both from California, are very close friends.
After Harden learned about the Sixers’ plans to not give him a max deal this summer, he opted into his player option and requested a trade. The future Hall of Famer believes he should be compensated fairly after averaging 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 10.7 assists last season while shooting 44.1% from the field, 38.5% from beyond the arc and 86.7% from the free-throw line.
Meanwhile, Westbrook re-signed with the Clippers on a two-year, nearly $8 million contract this offseason. The NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles began the 2022-23 season with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was traded to the Utah Jazz at the February trade deadline and waived by Utah.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: James Harden, Russell Westbrook & Los Angeles Clippers Updates
Westbrook joined the Clippers as a free agent after getting waived by the Jazz and averaged 15.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 7.6 assists in 21 games.
Harden is extremely upset at the way in which Philly handled his possible free agency and has made his dissatisfaction clear to the franchise. There was initially strong optimism on Harden’s side that he would be traded to the Clippers since both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are said to be on board with the idea of Harden potentially joining them in Los Angeles.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: James Harden, Russell Westbrook & Los Angeles Clippers Updates
However, the Sixers don’t have to honor Harden’s trade request since the 2017-18 MVP doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract. Harden intends to “never wear” a Sixers uniform again, sources told NBA Analysis Network, so this situation will be fascinating to watch.
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