76ers are proving they won the James Harden trade with Clippers

It has been less than two weeks since the LA Clippers officially traded for James Harden and completely changed the trajectory of their season. For better or worse, the Clippers are on an altogether different path now than they were at the start of the season.

Just as a refresher, the trade was made official when the 76ers agreed to send Harden and P.J. Tucker to LA in exchange for Robert Covington, Nicolas Batum, Marcus Morris and KJ Martin, along with several draft picks. While the blockbuster trade is still fresh, early returns are showing that Philadelphia was the clear winner of this dealing.

Since the trade went down, things have only improved for the 76ers, while the Clippers are in a serious rut and struggling to find their footing.

The 76ers are the clear winners of the James Harden trade

Philadelphia ultimately did not have much of a choice when choosing to trade James Harden, given that he was sitting out games until the team found a trade suitable for him. But getting Harden out of their lineup has actually significantly helped the 76ers win basketball games.

It has allowed Tyrese Maxey to come into his own as the lead guard and gain confidence as the second scoring option behind Joel Embiid. His newfound confidence manifested itself in the form of a 50-point game on Sunday against the Pacers.

The cherry on top? Philly owns a perfect 6-0 record since trading away James Harden. Having Harden both off the floor and out of the locker room seems to have given the 76ers a second wind after a draining offseason of trade rumors, and they currently own the top spot in the East standings.

On the other hand, the Clippers have lost all four of their games with Harden in the lineup. As they struggle to get back into the win column, they are losing precious time in a tightly-contested Western Conference. For the time being, there is no question who the winner of this trade was.