Just like the Baltimore Colts moving to Indianapolis in 1984, James Harden’s deal got done in the middle of the night. With little warning, the disgruntled superstar was moved to LA to team up with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook.
After going on ad nauseam about his broken relationship with Daryl Morey and insisting that he wanted to be moved to LA, Harden got his wish. He didn’t play a game for Philly this season, and after leaving Houston and briefly joining the Nets, Harden will play for his fourth team in four seasons.
BREAKING: The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed on a trade to send guard James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/wAyuJKMfAw
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 31, 2023
The Clippers now sport arguably one of the best starting lineups in the Association, but what does this mean from a fantasy hoops perspective? There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s dive right in!
Clippers receive
James Harden
P.J. Tucker
Filip Petrusev
Sixers receive
Marcus Morris
Nicolas Batum
Robert Covington
KJ Martin
2028 unprotected first-round pick
Two second-round picks and a pick swap
Additional future first-round pick from a third team
Winners
Tyrese Maxey
Maxey is the biggest winner of this deal, and it’s not particularly close. He won Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors after going for 30.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.3 dimes and 4.7 triples in 38.7 minutes across the first three games of the season. Maxey is on a tear to open up Year 4, and this is the best case scenario for him to continue the season at this elite pace.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić and Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey have been named the NBA Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for Week 1 of the 2023-24 season (Oct. 24-29). pic.twitter.com/xRU82VwFMC
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) October 30, 2023
The Harden trade didn’t bring in any guards to compete with him for minutes, so the playing time, usage and monster stats should be here to stay. Maxey finished the first week of the season ranked fifth in per-game fantasy value. If you snagged him in the 50s or 60s in your fantasy draft, congratulations! You’ve got a league winner on your roster!
Maybe Winners
De’Anthony Melton
Melton has logged just over 29 minutes per game to start the season, and even with Harden out for the first three contests, he hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire. Melton ranks just inside the top-120 in per-game fantasy value thanks in large part to his 1.7 steals per contest. As mentioned above, there are no new guards in this rotation, but Melton was already losing time to Kelly Oubre. With so many new faces in Philly, could he see his role reduced further? We’ll take the “wait and see” approach and hold for now.
KJ Martin
Martin showed a ton of promise for the Rockets over the first three years of his career, averaging 24.2 minutes in that span and posting career-best numbers in 2022-23. Martin’s move to LA came with a greatly diminished role, and his playing time plummeted to 15.5 minutes per game. Now in Philly, he’s got a chance to compete for minutes at the three, and his ability to play both forward positions as well as his hyper-athleticism helps his chances of a bounceback tremendously. He’s a speculative add in deeper leagues but not worth picking up in 12-team leagues.
KJ Martin on the break with Tyrese Maxey is going to be insane 🤯 pic.twitter.com/mkJQ9Nfgje
— MRCROCKPOT (@mrcrockpot) October 31, 2023
Paul Reed
Reed was a hot late-round pickup in fantasy hoops until he was suddenly a drop after the first week. Who’da thunk it? Tucker averaged 22 minutes per game for the Sixers to open the season, so perhaps his departure could free up some playing time for Reed? We’re not so sure, especially with so many forwards acquired in the deal. Reed is worth keeping an eye on and potentially adding in deeper leagues since the team is so shallow at center and so deep at forward, but we’re not getting too excited just yet.
Losers
Russell Westbrook
Wow, you’ve really got to feel for this guy. With Harden now on the team, Westy may be benched by the second LA basketball franchise. What a bad break. This season, he’s averaged 11.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.7 dimes while shooting 60% from the field, and he ranks 75 in per-game fantasy value in 8-cat leagues. Westbrook has logged better than 30 minutes per game, but it’s likely that his playing time and usage are cut significantly. Even if Westbrook remains in the starting five, Harden is going to steal some of his shine. Don’t drop just yet, but be prepared to make that move soon.
James Harden and Russell Westbrook have now teamed up at THREE different franchises! pic.twitter.com/LIrr49E8h1
— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) October 31, 2023
Terance Mann, Norman Powell, Bones Hyland
It’s unlikely you were rostering these guys anyway, but if they were your end-of-bench stashes, they can officially be dropped. Harden’s arrival means the majority of touches, minutes and usage will go to he, Leonard and George, with the rest of the team vying for scraps.
James Harden
The man at the center of the deal gets a small downgrade in fantasy value here. There’s no getting around it. Both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will be offensive focal points for this team, with Harden operating as the team’s top scorer on some nights but sharing scoring duties with at least two other players. Westbrook is going to see his usage and counting stats decrease, but Harden will lose some of his own to Westy, who racks them up at quite a high rate. Harden should still be the team’s top point guard, but there are more guys to steal minutes and touches in LA than there were in Philly. He should still be a fourth-rounder at worst, which is likely where you were able to draft him.
Maybe Losers
Kelly Oubre
Oubre has been phenomenal to open the season, averaging 19.0 points, 4.0 boards, 2.0 steals and 1.7 triples across 29.2 minutes per game. He’s been a top-50 player in 8-cat leagues thus far, but can he keep up the high scoring and substantial minutes after the Sixers added so much frontcourt depth?
76ers forward Kelly Oubre Jr. sits down with @Stadium: “(Free agency) was very disheartening. I guess my efforts felt as if they were a little unappreciated. I had to take that on the chin.”
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 30, 2023
On building off 20 PPG season, embracing winning in Philly, perceptions and much more: pic.twitter.com/8SKUvOHkLt
Tobias Harris
Same thing for Tobi. He’s a top-30 guy so far in 8-cat leagues, but he’s playing nearly 37 minutes per night. It’s unlikely he continues to see that level of playing time moving forward, and a reduction in minutes could ding his production and overall fantasy value.
Kawhi Leonard, Paul George
They may see reductions in some counting stats, but those reductions will likely be negligible. Geoge ranks 6th, and Leonard ranks 23rd in 8-cat value thus far, so even small step-backs in fantasy value will be just fine based on where you drafted these guys.
Doesn’t move the needle
Robert Covington, Nicolas Batum, Marcus Morris, P.J. Tucker
The Clippers’ lackluster forward rotation was simply moved out East, where it doesn’t become any more appealing, especially considering the Sixers already have talented forwards in Kelly Oubre and Tobias Harris and an MVP center in Joel Embiid. You weren’t rostering any of these guys before, and you shouldn’t be picking any of them up now. Tucker’s move to LA is lateral, and he’s off the fantasy radar.
