Just as everything was going smoothly for the Los Angeles Clippers, they have to deal with another fork in the road. On Monday night, reports came out that James Harden, due to his desire for a contract extension that takes his deal past the 2026-27 campaign, had asked for a trade from the Clippers due to LA's insistence on keeping the books clear for the 2027 offseason.
This development puts the Clippers in a pickle; they still owe a few future first-round picks to other teams due to the Paul George trade of 2019 and their acquisition of Harden in 2024, which means that they have to prioritize getting back win-now pieces in any outgoing Harden deal.
With this in mind, the Clippers have targeted Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland to be their point guard of the future, taking a chance on the 26-year-old guard who's currently out with a toe injury. Garland is 10 years younger than Harden, and having him around as Kawhi Leonard's co-star should at least help LA keep their heads above water as they prepare to fork over unprotected first-round picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers in 2026 and 2028, respectively.
However, the Cavs are reportedly asking for a first-round pick or a pick swap to go along with Harden in any Garland trade, and this is where the Clippers are drawing the line.
With Harden being a flight risk, it's best for the Clippers to deal with the situation immediately and not let it fester past the trade deadline. But as far as viable trade targets go, LA may have to look elsewhere.
This should be the Clippers' dream trade scenario before the February 5 deadline.
Clippers' dream trade deadline scenario: Acquire Julius Randle in the Harden trade
The Cavs don't stand to benefit much from acquiring Harden other than having more security on the health front as we approach the deeper part of the regular season. Harden is 10 years older, and it's not like he's not an injury risk himself having dealt with soft-tissue leg injuries in the past.
As for the Clippers, acquiring Garland would be a smart pivot that at least keeps the team semi-competitive. However, all the Clippers have in the way of tradeable future firsts are their 2031 and 2032 first-round picks (they can't trade both).
They could dangle pick swaps in 2030 and 2032 if they were to trade away their 2031 first-rounder, but at this point, is that even a smart thing to do for LA considering that the Leonard-led core is on the tail-end of its competitive timeline?
The Cavs are smart to ask for a future first from the Clippers considering how bleak the post-Leonard outlook is for the franchise. But LA also doesn't seem to be reckless enough that they'd fork over such a valuable asset for someone who isn't exactly having the best of seasons.
Garland is good, and is in the middle of his prime, but he's not much of a game-changer that it'd be worth it for the Clippers to part ways with future draft picks just to bring him in. The Cavs, on the other hand, may not be willing to do this swap if it meant that they won't be getting any first-rounders. Therein lies the stalemate between these two teams.
The good news is that the Clippers are at least not limited to just one suitor for Harden, as there are a few teams that are looking into the possibility of bringing Harden in other than the Cavs — with the Minnesota Timberwolves being one of those teams.
The Timberwolves have well-documented point guard issues, as their Rob Dillingham succession plan hasn't worked out according to plan. But Minnesota isn't exactly in a position of desperation. They have a good team; their 31-20 record is nothing to scoff at, and they've shown that they're able to go toe to toe with some of the best teams in the NBA. They're coming off of back to back Conference Finals appearances, so it's not like they have to remake the roster.
Their identity that's centered around bruising and physically overwhelming play has continued to define the way they play, with some even deeming them the huge winner of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade that brought Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo in.
Minnesota has a sprinkle of playmaking up and down the roster that helps make up for their lack of a true floor general who can take on a heavy workload. Perhaps the front office would want the security of having Harden around to ease the ballhandling and playmaking burden on both DiVincenzo and Edwards.
However, considering the Timberwolves' salary allocations, any Harden trade has to be centered around Randle. It's hard to envisage Minnesota parting ways with Jaden McDaniels just to bring Harden in, so it will have to be Randle who gives way. And for the Clippers, that has got to be good news.
Randle has been very good this year, averaging 22/7/5, and he's actually on a reasonable contract for his production. There is also no way that the Timberwolves are in a position to demand any future firsts from the Clippers in any Harden trade considering that The Beard is putting up 25 and eight this year and is going to solve their need for a point guard.
The Timberwolves have to add assets as well since Harden is making more money than Randle; a framework of a deal including Dillingham and Leonard Miller in addition to Randle works, money-wise.
Dillingham is at least a project the Clippers can work with. Miller is salary filler. But Randle should help keep LA afloat (which is the end goal for the Clippers in any Harden trade) while netting them other assets in return.
It's difficult to conjure up dream-like yet realistic trade scenarios for the Clippers involving Harden considering how abrupt this turn of events is. Harden is 36 and he would want to get paid, which limits his potential suitors. But as far as plausible scenarios go, trading Harden to the Timberwolves for a Randle-centric package may be the way to go.
