The NBA trade deadline got a whole lot more interesting on Monday night as Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix reported the Clippers and Cavaliers were holding “advanced” talks on potentially trading James Harden for Darius Garland. It was a completely unexpected breaking news report that resulted in plenty of Harden trade chatter overnight and into Tuesday morning.
The Clippers just so happened to play on Monday night, hosting the 76ers at the Intuit Dome on the second night of a back-to-back. Harden was ruled out for personal reasons and Los Angeles lost, 128-113. After the game his star teammate, Kawhi Leonard, was asked about the report. He said he had no comment on the situation and trusted the front office to make the right decision.
