Give or take a day, all the action for teams interested in James Harden was expected to happen near the end of the trade deadline, around February 5th. This means he would have maxed out his capacity as an LA Clipper this season, giving the front office enough time to make the appropriate trade, yet Marc Stein recently reported on ‘The Stein Line’ that the former MVP could be shipped much earlier.
Thus, the Clippers could be on the phone at this very second, adding and removing pieces with their rivals in a blockbuster deal. Harden is in his third season with the franchise, longer than anyone except Ivica Zubac, Kawhi Leonard, Jordan Miller, and Kobe Brown, which makes each update all the more prominent and special.
That said, the trade season has been too quiet around the NBA. The Clippers have to be the first to cook something, and they definitely have one destination in mind based on all of the factors in a transaction.
The LA Clippers will want the Minnesota Timberwolves to scoop up James Harden
It may be below freezing in Minnesota, but it is a temperature James Harden will have to adapt to, as the Timberwolves are a fit for him. He will give Chris Finch the best starting lineup in the league to compete with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs; they just have to strategize their way into playing them in the Western Conference Finals.
With Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, and Rudy Gobert surrounding him, Harden’s 25.8 points and 8.2 assists add a power house of playmaking that the Timberwolves have deemed mandatory.
As the Thunder's dynasty is in the final stages of development, what better upgrade could they make to give them a hard fight than an offensive unit like Harden?
The few words of “Harden in Minnesota” excite the Timberwolves, but the LA Clippers also receive a future that is worth risking a 36-year-old on. They would essentially give second chances to Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr., two young talents on the 2025-26 all-disappointing team.
The other non-draft asset sent to LA would be a high-end role player of their liking.
Nonetheless, with sources like Marc Stein already solidifying rumors about Harden, there is a relatively good chance he will be gone. The question on the mind of Clipper Nation is, how long will it take for the announcement to end up in the headlines, a couple of days or a few more weeks?