James Harden Trade: These Two Teams Reportedly Will Engage In Talks

It seems there’s a very real chance James Harden will be playing for a fifth NBA franchise in his career when the 2023-24 campaign begins.

Harden, who opted into his $35.6 million player’s option Thursday, is working with the Philadelphia 76ers in hopes of finding a trade partner, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski reported it’s expected Harden already has played his final game in Philadelphia, which traded for the 10-time NBA All-Star during the 2021-22 campaign. Harden went on to play 79 games for the franchise over the last year and a half. It followed an unsuccessful run with the Nets as Harden played 80 games for Brooklyn.

Wojnarowski followed up the initial report and shared the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks are expected to be among the teams that will engage in trade talks for Harden.

Harden will be entering his age-34 season. He showed signs of his old self during the NBA playoffs, especially when the Sixers were without Joel Embiid or when the NBA MVP was playing at less than 100%. Harden scored 45 points in Philadelphia’s Game 1 win over the Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals and followed it up with a 42-point night in Game 4.

However, Harden surely is on the back end of his career and thus his number of suitors might be more limited than years past.