Just! The deal is done! For him, Harden gave up money again!

The Harden trade is finally done.

On October 31, Beijing time, ESPN reported that the 76ers have agreed to trade Harden to the Clippers, and the specific transaction details are:

Clippers get: Harden, P.J. Tucker, Petrushev

The 76ers get: Morris Jr., Batum, Covington, Kenyon Martin Jr., the Clippers' unprotected first-round pick in 2028, two second-round picks, a draft pick swap and a first-round pick from a third party

Let's talk about the Clippers first, Harden and the Clippers have been eyebrows for a long time, and the main contradiction is that the Clippers are unwilling to fight for Mann, and at most only offer a first-round pick and a first-round swap.

Judging from the final result, the Clippers did keep Mamba, but they also issued more than one first-round pick (the third-party first-round pick has not been announced at this time), and the Clippers also sent Morris Jr., Batum, Covington, and Martin Jr. to Philadelphia.

It may seem that the Clippers front line is badly damaged, but in reality:

- Morris Jr. has been criticized for his performance last season, and he has been nicknamed "Tyronn Lue's father" and has not played this season

- Batum's form has been declining year by year, playing only 21.9 minutes last season (18.4 minutes in the playoffs), and so far this season, he has averaged 18.0 minutes per game and scored only 2.7 points, and Batum has confirmed his retirement at the end of the season

- Covington is a good 3-and-D, but Tyronn Lue will not use it, and has publicly complained in the offseason that after Mo's absence this season, his playing time has increased to 23.0 minutes, but he has only scored 3.0 points

- Martin Jr. just joined the Clippers in the offseason, and has played in three games so far, averaging 15.5 minutes per game, scoring 5.0 points, and making a total of 1 of 5 three-pointers

Looking at it individually, in fact, the loss of the Clippers is not particularly serious, but after all, it is a loss of four people all of a sudden, and the Clippers' forward rotation will definitely be affected, fortunately, the Clippers also got Tucker.

Tucker averaged 26.7 minutes per game in the playoffs last year and 22.0 minutes so far this season, although Tucker's offense is basically equal to nothing, but his defensive ability is still worthy of recognition, and for the Clippers locker room, Tucker's arrival should also be good news.

Speaking of which, the Clippers originally hoarded so many forwards, one of the reasons is also to deal with the injuries of Leonard and George, so far this season, the two have played healthy, even if someone is absent, there is Harden Wei less on top, and it must be no problem to go to the bottom, which is also the main reason why the Clippers dare to send four forwards at one time.

If nothing else, the Clippers will send the next starters to be: Harden + George + Leonard + Tucker + Zubac, and the bench has Willis + Hyland + Powell + Mann + Plumlee. The ceiling has been raised, the rotation depth is not bad, and it is certainly not like the other Big Three or Big Four teams, except for the stars are all leftovers.

So, the Clippers' roster is definitely a championship contender, but only if Cajiao is healthy, especially with the current shortage of forwards, the two of them can't be injured, or the Clippers may send away some guards (such as Powell) through follow-up trades and then add to the forward rotation.

Let's talk about the 76ers, according to a follow-up report from ESPN, the original trade negotiations between the 76ers and the Clippers have been closed, but because it is becoming more and more difficult for Harden to integrate into the 76ers lineup, the 76ers and the Clippers restarted trade negotiations over the weekend, and then finalized the decision.

In the three games that have ended so far, Maxey's performance is amazing, with an average of 30.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game, and a three-point shooting rate of 50.0%/56.0%/91.3%.

Since Harden didn't play in the first place, compared to the past three games, the 76ers are equivalent to losing Tucker, but getting four (Morris can't play yet) forwards who can play in the playoffs, that is, the combat power has not decreased but improved. And the first-round picks they get can be traded for mid-season or next summer.

Another thing worth noting is that the 76ers got four forward players all with expiring contracts, and when Tobias Harris's contract expires next offseason, the only 76ers with contracts will be Embiid, Paul Reed, and Maxey (who haven't renewed their contracts yet but will definitely stay), and theoretically, they will have enough salary space to pursue another superstar, for example, to sign Leonard or George?

Finally, back to Harden.

According to the analysis of domestic salary experts, judging from the trade balance transaction, Harden should have given up his 15% trade margin in order to bring Tucker, which is not much, but it is also worth more than $5.3 million.

It needs to be said that this is not the first time that Harden has given up money for Tucker, last offseason, Harden took a salary cut of 10 million to renew his contract in order for the 76ers to sign Tucker and House, but I didn't expect that the salary cut also became the beginning of the conflict between Harden and Fei Guan.

The Clippers will be the fifth team Harden has joined, and the fourth team in the past four seasons, before the Nets, 76ers, the ending was not very good, this time, Harden is in a contract year, the situation is different, he still has superstar teammates around him, how far do you think, how far can the Clippers go next year?