When the Philadelphia 76ers and LA Clippers had their latest round of James Harden trade talks on Monday, a topic that is both familiar and frustrating for both parties arose again: the future of Terance Mann.
After months of discussions between the two teams — and with Harden pulling away from Philadelphia as the regular season nears — Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey was hopeful the Clippers had changed their minds about their 27-year-old guard. But they had not.
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Despite the Sixers indicating that they would accept an offer of a Clippers’ unprotected first-round pick, first-round pick swap, players to match the salaries and Mann, two people involved in the negotiations say Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank reiterated the team’s stance that Mann would not be part of their offer. Morey, those people say, expressed his disbelief and accused the Clippers of being “unserious” about getting a deal done. He even quipped that they should just trade Clippers star Paul George for Harden if they were so determined to keep all of their lesser assets — a request that was immediately denied.
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So the standstill that started when Harden made his trade demand about being dealt to the Clippers in the summer — and which has now compelled him to break away from the Sixers entirely — remains.
As our Shams Charania reported on Wednesday morning, Harden has not been with the Sixers in person since Sunday and is known to have been outside of Philadelphia. He missed the team’s shootaround and Monday’s preseason win in Brooklyn, then missed practice on Wednesday. After early training camp signs that Harden was willing to remain patient as this process continued, and with the Sixers’ regular-season opener at Milwaukee nearing on Oct. 26, he has clearly chosen to let his dissatisfaction be known by his absence.
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Unless Harden shares a reason for the absence that the Sixers deem worthy of being excused, all signs point to Harden being fined by the team going forward. Harden, who remains furious at Morey for his handling of the situation, has stayed in communication with the team by way of general manager Elton Brand as recently as Tuesday night.
For the Sixers’ part, they believe Harden’s ire should be aimed at the Clippers. If the Clippers would put Mann in the deal while also giving up the unprotected first, the pick swap and matching salaries, Harden would have his wish, and the 76ers would then have a chance to pursue the sort of high-end player via trade that would keep them in title contention. Philadelphia is known to already have trades lined up in which it would receive a first-round pick in exchange for Mann.
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The Sixers’ goal from there would be to make those assets part of a subsequent offer for the All-Star-caliber player of their choosing later in the season. It’s an imperfect post-Harden plan, but one they believe is fair to all parties considering the limited value they would be receiving for a player of Harden’s magnitude.
Yet as Harden sees it, the Clippers have already met the threshold that he believed should have led to a deal, and Morey is now, in essence, moving the goalposts. More specifically, the Clippers’ willingness to offer two first-round picks — their own and one from elsewhere — has been refused by Morey because of the quality of the picks (they could potentially turn into second-rounders). His interest, it seems, is only in the Clippers’ assets.
As The Athletic reported in early October, the Clippers had been talking with several teams in an attempt to secure the kind of additional draft capital that they believed might appease Morey. But the lack of clarity about which picks are being discussed between the Sixers and the Clippers, as well as the conditions on those picks, make it virtually impossible to see this situation clearly. And Harden’s stated lack of trust in Morey, his longtime basketball partner who drew his ire because of how he handled his possible free agency last summer, is surely making matters worse when it comes to his view of it all.
All the while, with Harden and Morey both so well-versed in with these uncomfortable dynamics, the basketball world awaits their next move. Again.
(Photo of James Harden: Brian Babineau / NBAE via Getty Images)
