Clippers’ strong finish shows they clearly won James Harden trade

Harden scored 12 of his 39 points in overtime to lead his Clippers to a 124-119 win over the Golden State Warriors. That secured the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference, while a loss would have sent the Clippers into the play-in tournament.

The Clippers got that far thanks to a late-season surge that saw them win their final eight games as part of an 18-3 close to the season. During those final 21 games, Harden led his team with 26.2 points and 8.9 assists while shooting 39.7 percent on 8.3 attempts per game. That’s an impressive finish for a 35-year-old who has faced questions about his fitness and conditioning throughout his career.

Philadelphia didn’t want to give Harden a long-term extension in the summer of 2023. after Harden held out, Philadelphia sent Harden and P.J. Tucker to L.A. for a first-round pick, two first-round pick swaps and a package of players that included Nicolas Batum. Last summer, the Clippers gave Harden a long-term contract while the 76ers signed free agent Paul George away from the Clippers.

Harden made the All-Star team this season, after a year deferring to George and Kawhi Leonard as a scorer, with his scoring average dropping to 16.6. The Clippers finished fourth and lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, while the 76ers ended up seventh in the East, winning the play-in but losing in the first round.

This season, Harden upped his scoring to 22.8 PPG, getting to the foul line for 7.3 free throws per game and playing 79 games. By contrast, George played only 41 for the 24-58 Sixers. As part of their offseason revamp, Philly let Batum go, and he returned the play 78 games and shoot 43.3 percent from three-point range for the Clippers.

Future draft picks are nice to have, but not at the expense of missing the championship window of your star, which is what Philadelphia team president Daryl Morey has done with Joel Embiid. By waiting out a holdout by Ben Simmons to trade for Harden, only to have Harden himself hold out one year later left Embiid short-handed during his prime. Now with George and Embiid dogged by injuries, their time as title contenders may have passed.

What might sting the Sixers even more than Harden’s continued excellence is the career revival Simmons has experienced as a Clipper. He’s been an excellent backup guard, averaging 6.8 assists per 36 minutes, with a 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, while racking up steals and blocks on defense.