Biggest superteam of the decade or an All-Time bust (FT. 76ers, Harden, Embiid, Daryl Morey)

 

This is it. The Clippers have finally landed all-star James Harden from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, KJ Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks, a 2029 pick swap, and an additional first-round pick that will be routed from a third team. The Clippers also landed PJ Tucker. This is a huge trade because James Harden was going to suit up for the 76ers and was ready to accept his situation but Philly got a good deal for him and now Harden will be a part of another superteam in LA. But what does this mean for Joel Embiid? He knows that this roster is just not good enough to win a championship, and maybe this roster does not make it past the first round. So what will happen to Joel Embiid? What will happen to the Clippers this year and how will Daryl Morey respond to the changes in Philadelphia? We have it all explained in this article. Before you start reading, if you are interested in more sports articles like this, share this with your friends, and make sure to follow our blogs for more updates and leave your opinion down in the comments section.

Daryl Morey is a liar?

The famous video from the offseason where James Harden accused Daryl Morey of being a liar and told that he never would be a part of an organization where Morey is the GM. This is the place from where Philly's offseason went on a downward track. No one wants to join a dumpster fire of an organization where the 2nd superstar of the team is causing tantrums and the GM is accused of being a liar. But the question remains the same for the 76ers front office: Is Daryl Morey a liar? We have done our own analysis on this question and the answer is no. Daryl Morey is not a liar. This is all on James Harden. He was the one looking for a max contract. He was the one betraying Daryl Morey by being linked to Houston on a max contract. But Houston didn't want him. So he goes back to Philly asking for a max contract but gets declined a max contract and then demands out of Philly. But the good news is that Philly has got rid of this situation. Bad news: there is more disaster to come.

The Joel Embiid Situation

Joel Embiid was drafted to this disastrous franchise back in 2014 and since then, he has not been out of the 2nd round in the playoffs and Philadelphia has failed to build a contender around him. They drafted Ben Simmons, traded up to the #1 overall pick to take Markelle Fultz over Jayson Tatum, traded for Jimmy Butler, and traded for James Harden. After so many years of losing, Joel Embiid has to accept that the franchise is not a contender and he can only win a championship with another team. Joel Embiid is expected to do everything. Defend, play offense, rebound, there have to be more people on the team who can do all this. I predict that if Philly is lower than the 5 seed, then we could see Embiid demanding a trade from the 76ers. I am sorry 76ers fans but right now, the best thing Philly could do is rebuild by trading their best asset. Why do you guys want to go through all the playoff drama just to be eliminated in the 1st round or the semi-finals? There are so many teams that will line up to take Joel Embiid if he demands a trade. The best team I could think of is the New York Knicks. They have been waiting for a superstar like Embiid for years and if Embiid were to demand a trade, the Knicks would have everything ready to trade (except Brunson) for Embiid. Other teams could be like the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have been stacking picks and young players, and the Utah Jazz, who also have a similar package compared to the Thunder and the Golden State Warriors. If Klay does not resign in Golden State, then we might see a package surrounded around surrounding with Chris Paul, Klay Thompson, Jonathan Kuminga, and 1st-round picks to give. I think that package would probably beat any package in the NBA because CP3 is a playmaker and Klay is a good vet. to keep around young players. Personally, I think the Warriors might not be in the trade conversation just because Klay will retire as a Warrior as per me, a team like the Knicks, Thunder, or Jazz end up with Embiid.

Are the Clippers "Fine in the West"

The Los Angeles Clippers have been competing to reach the finals since they signed Kawhi Leonard and traded for Paul George. But this was just a big disaster with Kawhi playing 162 games out of the 420 games and the same issue remains with Paul George. But with Westbrook and Harden, we could see things change. Westbrook and Harden could keep them alive during the regular season if their primary superstars had to miss games due to injury and could also keep them alive throughout the playoffs. But personally, I do not think this is a team that makes the NBA finals. Call me a hater if you want to, but if you are dependent on Westbrook and Harden in the playoffs if Kawhi and PG get injured, you are not making it past the 2nd round in the playoffs. Both Harden and Westbrook are horrible in the playoffs and need that one superstar to be with them in order to go ahead in the playoffs. My prediction is that the Clippers make it no further than the Western Conference Semi-finals. In my opinion, their ceiling is the Western Conference Finals just because of Kawhi's injury history. If Kawhi has a healthy playoff run with Paul George, I think this team not only wins the west but also win the NBA finals because the last time Kawhi was healthy, he won a championship with the Raptors and this time, he has a better team than the Raptors. 

What will happen to the Philadelphia 76ers?

The reason I took the time to upload this blog was to see how the 76ers are doing without James Harden against other teams. And, the 76ers have not beaten any promising teams. They beat the weak Raptors twice, a rebuilding Trail Blazers, a Suns team without their 2 big star players and they lost to a not-so-promising Bucks. I think the 76ers will try to rebuild around Tyrese Maxey if Joel Embiid demands a trade. If Embiid does not demand a trade, the 76ers front office will have to trade for a 2nd star player who can replace James Harden. The top candidates I find the 76ers trading for are players like Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Julius Randle, Karl-Anthony Towns(If Minnesota is a play-in team), or a great no. 2 like Dejounte Murray if Atlanta blows up the Trae Young experiment but personally, I don't see this happening. But what if the Jazz are willing to trade Lauri Markkanen. The Jazz will be probably the worst team in the West and become a seller at the trade deadline to add as many assets as they can. If they need to choose a team to send Markkanen, the 76ers will be the best team for not only Markkanen but also for the Jazz. The Jazz can get those Clippers' 1st-round picks, which are one of the most valuable assets in the league, and could get a good role player or 2 and in return, the 76ers get a great No. 2 in the form of Markkenen. 

Grades for the 76ers and the Clippers

I will have to give the 76ers an A- or A+ just because the 76ers might end up losing Joel Embiid due to all the drama he has gone through in Philly. But I will have to give the Clippers a B- or a C+ because they gave up low-end role players but gave a pick swap and an unprotected 1st round pick. If the James Harden experiment works out in the end with the Clippers winning the championship this year, the Clippers win this trade because Embiid will be furious that Harden won a chip without him with a different team. But that's all we have for this blog. If you liked our take on this trade, follow us on X and blogger, comment your opinion, and share this blog with your friends. Thanks for reading our blog