NBA Trade Rumors: Ex-Executive Drops James Harden Bombshell as Leverage Piece to Boost Clippers' Roster Amid Playoff Freefall

When James Harden joined the LA Clippers in 2023, he raised the team's ceiling in terms of how far they could go in the playoffs. However, due to a number of reasons, the Clippers have not gotten out of the first round for two consecutive seasons; and in the 2025-26 campaign, they have struggled mightily to even reach .500.

The Clippers now have a desperate need to make changes, and according to NBA insider Marc Stein, Harden could very well find himself on the trading block in the near future.

"One veteran executive read my recent item about James Harden's potential availability between now and the Feb. 5 deadline and said his front office, to name at least one, indeed projects the NBA's last American-born MVP (from the 2017-18 season) to wind up in trade play at some point this winter," Stein wrote on Sunday.

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A move to trade away Harden can help the Clippers, who have one the league's oldest rosters, get an infusion of new blood via draft picks. Back in 2019, the Clippers infamously mortgaged their future by letting go of young guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a number of first-round picks to acquire Paul George from the OKC Thunder.

Now, George is no longer with the team; Gilgeous-Alexander has won an NBA title, NBA MVP, and Finals MVP in OKC; and one of the first-round picks dealt by the Clippers turned out to be All-Star forward Jalen Williams. Meanwhile, the Clippers have reaped just one conference finals appearance in that fateful George trade.

With the team going nowhere, it's possible that the next two months will see them parting ways with Harden, another veteran that they had pinned their hopes on.

"Get the monkey off our back": James Harden talks about Clippers' mental challenge amidst their struggles to win consistently

On Saturday, the Clippers did score a huge victory when they defeated the LA Lakers 103-88. After the game, Harden was asked about the mental challenge faced by the team as they deal with several losses at the start of this season.

"These last five or six games, I think we've been playing well. We just have to put it together for four quarters," Harden told reporters. "So tonight was just, get the monkey off our back. And now, we've just go to watch film and figure out ways to get better."

In the win over the Lakers, who'd lost Luka Doncic to an apparent leg injury in the first half, Harden finished with 21 points, four rebounds, and 10 assists.

Edited by Simoun Victor Redoblado