james harden He did it again and moved heaven and earth with his arrival. Los Angeles Clippers, is expected to be less shocking. Without a clear direction since his 10 years with the Houston Rockets, “Beard” left Texas City and began desperately searching for a ring. As a result, he ended up playing for up to four different teams in less than two years. Since January 2021, Harden has Rockets, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers.

Paradoxically, if the march daryl morey That was primarily the reason for his departure from the Rockets, but the presence of executives with the Sixers is what motivates Harden not to play another game in Philadelphia.

“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of his organization,” Harden said at a sneaker event in China in August, in powerful words that still resonate.Already angry that his ex-friend didn’t offer him a multi-year contract renewal, or at least not in time, “Beard” decided that his player options by 35.6 million to extend his contract for another year.

Upcoming point guard applying same strategy as Houston to achieve whims. 34 years This time, unlike his forced departure from the Rockets and Nets, there is a widespread theory that he was actually using pads, and even though he did not gain weight suspiciously quickly. He showed up late to training camp.

He left Brooklyn because he basically couldn’t stand it. kyrie irving in a failed trio kevin durant And he fled Philadelphia. That’s because he somehow didn’t accept his role alongside Joel Embiid. And according to Harden, Morey’s monologue was just a trigger because he didn’t want to change his role as a scorer and add an extra assistant.

Not even being the league’s top assist scorer with 10.6 passes per basket has kept him from focusing on scoring, and he was thinking of returning to the Rockets this summer to become the NBA’s top scorer again. revealed.but ImeudokaHe also wanted to build his team from defense, but answered that it would be impossible.

James Harden’s bohemian life and his obsessions while changing teams many times point They say point guards don’t want to give up their individualism for the ring. Among other things, as was the case when he re-signed with the Sixers to bring salary space to Penn State’s team in the summer of 2022. P.J. Tuckerhe strangely goes to Los Angeles with him as part of the deal.

“Beard” is similar, catching the playoff complex of another star like joel embiid was able to change the narrative of his postseason run with performances of 42 and 45 points. conference semifinals Last year, he played against the Celtics, but in Game 7 he recorded just 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists on 3-of-11 shooting from the field, but failed in a 5-game loss.

The Clippers, who beat out Daryl Morey to become his preferred destination, will give the 2018 MVP another chance by fielding an established veteran star and a rich team. Kawhi Leonard (32 years old), Paul George (33 years old), Russell Westbrook (soon to be 35 years old) He will reunite after performances in Oklahoma and Houston. The Los Angeles team is giving the Kawhi-George duo another chance, and both players are confident they won’t be doomed by their infirmary visits this year.

Harden’s arrival only strengthens Kawhi and George’s facilitator role with another point guard after bringing Harden on board. russell westbrook During February. Since Russ moved to the other side of Los Angeles, the two have acquired a better generator that helps them create high-quality shots and relieves them of the workload. According to data from ESPN, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George possessed the ball 51% of the time, but that percentage dropped to 42% when Westbrook was on the court.

The crux of the problem is that yes Tyrone Lue He will either have four star players or Harden will take over the starting point guard role and send Westbrook to the bench to take over the starting point guard role. Westbrook has since made a partial return to the Lakers in that role.Having both point guards means giving up. Terrence Mann As a new option for the starting quintet following the departure of robert covington and abandon defense. Another question is how long it will take for ‘The Beard’ to get back in shape after missing multiple training sessions and not appearing in any preseason games.

James Harden’s inclusion includes two interesting interior options, including PJ Tucker and former Red Star. Philip Petrushev. A valuable player went to Philadelphia, but Lue connected a lot of people. Nico BatumWith his energy, perseverance and history of improvement, Tucker is a perfect fit for the former Lakers player.

Last year is indisputable doc rivers With the Sixers, it was clear that improvements to the 76ers’ collective system to lighten Joel Embiid’s load included removing Tucker from the starting five. Although an elite defender, today’s NBA requires contributions beyond open three-point shooting effectiveness, and the Bucks’ 2021 champions took away the fluidity of Philadelphia’s offense.

As noted in his transfer analysis, ESPNPJ Tucker is a very effective antidote option for: Nikola Jokic. If there was a coach who was able to instantly shut down the Serbian last year, it was Doc Rivers and Tucker, with Nuggets 126-119 Sixers double MVP in the post and on the perimeter with Joel Embiid. I continued to protect the paint by placing it. In January.

And Petrushev is also an interesting addition for the Clippers by bringing versatility to their interior game. The 23-year-old, 2.11m tall Serbian center has grown significantly over the last year under the guidance of two former Barça coaches. Dusko Ivanovich and Svetislav Pesic He played for Red Star and the Serbian national team, and the Sixers brought him in this summer after drafting him with the 50th pick in 2021. Although he hadn’t made his debut yet, Nick Nurse expected a lot from him.

“He’s a good player. He really understands the game, he’s versatile. Maybe he lacks a little bit of size in terms of physical strength, I don’t know. He played a few preseason games. That’s all I’ve ever seen.” He can pass, he can pick-and-pop, he can shoot threes, he’s a really great player. excellent defender, You probably wouldn’t think so, but he knows what he’s doing. “I want to see if he can play as a 4,” the Sixers coach stressed to the MD before the move.

In that respect, Tyrese Maxey He also praised Petrushev’s impact on the court, saying, “He reads the game very well, shoots well, sets screens well, rebounds, and is a very tough player. ” he said. “It’s fun to play with him,” the point guard emphasized.

That’s a lot for the Clippers, but with an even crazier salary bill of $30 million and a new mid-level exception in the collective bargaining agreement that eliminates the Los Angeles team’s chances of signing the player, there are some positives. . The Los Angeles team is an ambitious and expensive project, but one that could easily be dismantled with James Harden and Russell Westbrook having their contracts terminated. 2024 Like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, he has a player option for another year in exchange for $48 million.

Russ’ salary – 3.8 million – isn’t as much of an issue as post-war Kawhi (45), George (45) or Harden (35.6). 2017 MVP Because the California team’s financial situation was precarious, they made the sacrifice of agreeing to renew at almost the minimum amount.

The rest of the Sixers’ plan begins

With the Clippers everything is very clear, and the Los Angeles team is already strengthening its squad to reach the goal of the first ring, but with the Philadelphia 76ers a kind of transition phase begins. A large group of players arrives in Philadelphia, Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Marcus Morris, KJ Martinthe Penn State team remains ill-equipped to compete without a top-level star to accompany Joel Embiid.

Tyrese Maxey continues to grow his distiller 22 years old And while his personality has earned him the starting point guard responsibility, it still doesn’t seem like enough for Nurse’s team. Recognizing that no star players would arrive in this operation once the first part of the plan was complete, Daryl Morey’s strategy included acquiring All-Star players in the second operation. Adrian Wojnarowski already said before the game that this was a goal for the Sixers. Trading deadline.

To this end, Philadelphia Abundant draft capital By choosing to take two first-round picks, one first-round swap, and two second-round picks, he avoided spending half the season without playing as a starting point guard, as had already happened. . Ben Simmons. Once again, it’s the renowned manager’s turn to use his genius and ingenuity to pull the Sixers out of the mess that point guard James Harden was constantly accused of being selfish. He ends up getting his way.