Winners and Losers from Blockbuster 76ers-Clippers James Harden Trade

Marcus Morris Sr., Kawhi Leonard and James HardenDavid Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

There’s a qualifier there for a reason. For all of the reasons laid out above, there’s certainly a chance this partnership between Harden and the Clippers works.

On raw talent alone, L.A. should have enough to not only contend but also to win the title.

However, the health concerns for Leonard and George will hover over the team throughout the season. They morphed into actual injuries and doomed the 2022-23 Clippers. And if that happens again, Harden singlehandedly carrying the team is tantamount to asking for one of the aforementioned postseason flops.

There’s also Harden’s own lack of reliability. His has less to do with health and more to do with whether he’ll even want to stick around for more than the next several months.

Harden has publicly and obviously quit on three teams now. This is his fourth squad since 2021. With that kind of track record, it wouldn’t be remotely shocking to see it happen again if things don’t go great immediately in L.A.

Every time he joins a new superteam, there’s some semblance of hope and excitement. And every time (at least so far), that hope is replaced with drama, tension and chemistry-crushing losses.

That doesn’t necessarily have to be the Clippers’ future, but it’s at least possible.

If things do go poorly, L.A. could be looking at a full reset, and it would now be doing that with fewer draft assets at its disposal.

Harden’s contract expires after this season, while George and Leonard both have player options for 2024-25.