During the middle of Monday night, the James Harden saga finally reached a conclusion when the Philadelphia 76ers shipped the former MVP to the LA Clippers for multiple players and draft picks. The complex trade also involved a third party: the Oklahoma City Thunder gained draft capital in the three-team deal.
The Thunder are acquiring the Clippers’ 2027 first-round pick swap as they ship LA’s protected 2026 first-round pick to the Sixers.
The Thunder originally acquired the Clippers’ unprotected 2026 first-round pick in the 2019 Paul George trade in which they also landed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Now, the Thunder essentially decided to swap the unprotected 2026 first-round pick — with added protections — for a 2027 first-round swap with the Clippers in the deal. Depending on the 2026 pick’s protections, there’s a scenario where the Thunder end up owning that pick, too, if it fails to convey to the Sixers.
Overall, the 2026 first-round pick the Sixers will reportedly gain will be the least favorable of a handful of first-round picks OKC possesses in that year’s draft.
In the 2026 draft, the Thunder owns the first-round picks of the Clippers, Houston Rockets (top-four protected) and their own. The worst of those three will belong to the Sixers.
In total, the Sixers sent Harden, P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrusev to the Clippers for Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, KJ Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks, a 2029 first-round pick swap and a 2026 protected first-round pick.
Not directly involved in this trade, but related to it — the Thunder own the Sixers’ 2025 first-round pick that is top-six protected. If it fails to convey, it’ll be a top-four protected pick in 2026 and 2027. OKC acquired the draft pick in the 2020 Al Horford trade.
Who knows how reigning MVP Joel Embiid feels about the trade, but initial reactions think the Sixers didn’t get equal value for the multi-time All-Star.
There’s always the possibility the Sixers package parts of the Clippers’ return and flip it for another co-star, but as things stand right now, this deal certainly doesn’t fan the flames of Embiid eventually asking out.
If the worst-case scenario occurs in Philly, then that draft pick could skyrocket in value as either another chance to add young, cheap talent or as a trade chip for the Thunder.
Either way, OKC’s involvement in the Harden trade can be described as taking a calculated risk by kicking the can down the road on one of their many future first-round picks.
