The James Harden doomsday clock strikes midnight

James Harden reportedly wants out of the Clippers, and the Cavaliers might take him on for Darius Garland. Yes, your dropped jaw is the correct reaction.

Good morning. Groundhogs aren't real. Let's basketball.

As the Clippers were getting blown out by the visiting Sixers on Monday, with James Harden missing a second straight game due to personal reasons, Chris Mannix dropped a bomb on the basketball internet: he reported that the Clippers and Cavaliers were in advanced talks on a swap involving Harden and Darius Garland. ESPN (with Shams Charania reporting and Ramona Shelburne getting the byline) followed quickly with a riff on that, saying that the Clippers and Harden were working collaboratively on a deal with the Cavaliers as one of the interested parties. There was no mention of Garland.

Meanwhile, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer report (without mentioning Mannix's name, odd) that talks between the Clippers and Cavs aren't advanced and that the teams most recently discussed De'Andre Hunter before the Kings landed him. But Stein and Fischer do back up the idea that the Clippers are considering Harden trades. A quartet of reporters for The Athletic report that the two teams have discussed such a swap, and that draft assets headed to Cleveland are a quibbling point.

Just about everyone agrees that the source of energy around these rumors is Harden's desire for a longer-term commitment from his team. The Beard has a player option for 2026-27 and apparently didn't feel good about L.A.'s interest in adding years given his age (high) and the team's trajectory (questionable). Of Harden's five trade pushes, this would be the third focused on money following his initial trade from the Thunder (which he isn't alleged to have demanded but which centered around his correct belief that he should receive the max) and the trade that brought him to the Clippers (the Daryl Morey Is A Liar trade). The other two trade pushes were due to him being displeased with the basketball situation (post-Westbook Rockets) or general vibes (Kyrie-era Brooklyn). There's always a reason.