The LA Clippers have traded Tobias Harris (among others) to the Philadelphia 76ers. We break down each piece returned from the reported deal. Tobias Harris‘ time with the LA Clippers is all but officially a thing of the past, and the same goes for fan-favorite center Boban Marjanovic and three-ball extraordinaire Mike Scott. News broke around 11:17 PM PST (and 2:17 AM for myself) that Harris and Co. would be dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala and four future draft selections. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski had the scoop first, as he often does. The news came as a shock to Clippers fans, coming just a few hours after Harris had hit the game-winning shot to put away the Charlotte Hornets. The team had reportedly had plans to re-sign Harris in the summer for a healthy amount of money, and a trade seemed unlikely. But as we saw last season, no player is truly ever off the table if the price is right — and in this case, it was for the LA Clippers. By shipping out Harris, the Clippers have one less difficult decision to make this summer, and can devote more of their attention to signing big-name guys like Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant come July. It hurts to see him go, especially since he’ll be bringing his pal Boban along for the ride, but Harris has a better chance to win in Philadelphia — and a better chance to get the money that he truly deserves. It isn’t all doom and gloom for the Clippers, though. In fact, it’s not hard to argue that they won this trade, thanks to the savvy of Jerry West and the rest of LA’s front office. The team will get some very solid players in return for Harris, as well as one of the more-coveted draft selections in the next few years: An unprotected 2021 first-rounder from the Miami Heat. In the following slides, I’ll be highlighting each piece returned by the Clippers in the Harris trade, and breaking down their future with the team. Get ready, and get excited.<doc-sep>It’s only February, but the Los Angeles Clippers already are making huge plans for the summer. With Thursday’s NBA trade deadline now come and gone, the Clippers, who traded Tobias Harris to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, have turned their attention to this summer’s free agent class. For much of the season it has been reported that LA covets Toronto Raptors star forward Kawhi Leonard and will offer him a max contract should he choose to leave Canada for his native Southern California, as has been his reported desire. But Leonard apparently isn’t the only superstar player Jerry West and Co. hope to land this offseason. The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported Wednesday, citing sources, that the Clippers’ offseason plan is to pair Leonard with Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant. “There?s still an overwhelming sense around the league that Durant is destined to sign with the Knicks, but this was as clear a sign of any that the Clippers aren?t giving up on their grand plan of landing Durant and Kawhi Leonard this summer,” Amick writes. Durant, who has won back-to-back NBA Finals MVPs, has been linked to the New York Knicks all season, and New York’s recent trade of Kristaps Porzingis appeared to pave the way for Durant and potentially another star to call Madison Square Garden home next season.<doc-sep>The Clippers have agreed to trade Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott to the 76ers for a package of players and two first-round picks. A Los Angeles basketball team has made a major trade as we approach the deadline. But it wasn’t the Lakers. The Clippers have agreed to trade Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott to the 76ers for Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, a 2020 first-round pick, a 2021 unprotected first-round pick (via the Heat) and two second-round picks (2021 and 2023), which was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Philadelphia is going all-in with this move, as Harris is averaging a career-high 20.7 PPG, but is an unrestricted free agent after the season. The seven-year pro now joins a potent starting five along with Ben Simmons, JJ Redick, Jimmy Butler and Joel Embiid. On the other end, the Clippers stockpiled some quality assets for a potential rental, especially the unprotected Miami first-round pick. Here’s hoping we get more blockbusters to shake up the league before Thursday’s deadline passes.<doc-sep>Adrian Wojnarowski breaks down how the Clippers' trade with the 76ers gives them an opportunity to make big moves and possibly acquire Anthony Davis. (1:25) PHILADELPHIA -- In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, what already has been a wild NBA trade deadline received another boost when ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Philadelphia 76ers completed a blockbuster deal with the LA Clippers for forward Tobias Harris. The full deal -- Philadelphia getting Harris, center Boban Marjanovic and forward Mike Scott in exchange for forward Wilson Chandler, guard Landry Shamet, center Mike Muscala, Philadelphia's 2020 first-round pick, the Miami Heat's unprotected 2021 first-round pick and two second-rounders -- has wide-ranging implications around the league. Here's a quick rundown: 1. Philadelphia's star-laden starting five By adding Harris -- and not sacrificing any of their top four players to do so -- Philadelphia now has a starting five of Ben Simmons, JJ Redick, Jimmy Butler, Harris and Joel Embiid. The only team that can compare to them in the league at this point are the Golden State Warriors. After this move, Philadelphia can at least dream about reaching the NBA Finals this June. Editor's Picks Trade grades: Big winners in the blockbuster Tobias Harris deal The Lakers shouldn't trade everything for Anthony Davis 1 Related Harris is the ideal piece to slot in next to Philadelphia's other stars. He's a terrific shooter (hitting 43.4 percent of his 3-pointers this season, and shooting just less than 50 percent overall) and can fit in tandem with any of Philly's stars -- something that will matter greatly as the Sixers are going to be searching for plenty of depth. But Philadelphia should be able to have a minimum of two, if not three, of these five on the floor at any one time, which can help mitigate those depth issues. 2. A full-scale search for a bench Even after making this move for Harris, Philadelphia is still staring at the glaring weakness it had before doing this deal: athleticism off the bench. Scott will replace Muscala as the team's backup power forward (where he's actually a better fit), while Marjanovic will give them an intriguing look against bigger backup big men and Jonah Bolden can possibly get spot minutes against smaller ones. Among backup guards and wings, though, here is Philadelphia's current assortment of players: T.J. McConnell, Furkan Korkmaz, and injured guards Markelle Fultz and Zhaire Smith. Assuming Philadelphia doesn't turn Fultz into players who can help now -- and coach Brett Brown said Tuesday Fultz isn't anywhere close to returning -- expect the Sixers to be a heavy player for any guard on the buyout market who springs free. Wesley Matthews is the most obvious name, but any other that pops up will immediately garner interest. Corey Brewer also is likely to make a return to the roster once the deadline passes. 3. Clippers retooling ... and resetting One of the questions executives around the league have been pondering over the past several weeks is the Clippers' direction at the deadline. Facing the possibility of handing over their first-round pick if they make the playoffs, would the Clippers actually go for it? Or would they instead pivot and use their many interesting players on expiring deals to net future assets? LA chose the latter. And doing so netted the Clippers an incredible haul in all of these picks. That doesn't even include Shamet, who has been one of the most pleasant surprises from this rookie class. 2019 NBA trade deadline We've got you covered on the biggest deals going down at the NBA trade deadline. • All the trades, grades and intel • Trade tracker: Details on every move • Davis is still a Pelican -- now what? • What's next for Markelle Fultz in Orlando? • How good are the Raptors with Gasol? • Trade machine: You be the GM Now the Clippers will be able to continue into the summer with their plan to land a pair of star free agents (led by Kawhi Leonard, their top and most likely target) while also not having to worry about the possibility of losing out on their backup plan in Harris, who was likely to draw heavy interest himself once free agency began. It also adds to their coffers for a potential trade for a star either now, this summer or beyond. 4. The race to the top of the Eastern Conference just got tougher Assuming Philadelphia is able to pull this off and keep Simmons, Butler, Harris and Embiid together long term, the Sixers should be a threat in the East for years to come. More importantly, they clearly are going for it this season. The question now is how do the other contenders -- the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks -- react? The Bucks have likely already made their big moves, while the Celtics have to wait until the offseason to make the swing they've been plotting for years -- trying to land Anthony Davis. (Note: The Clippers almost certainly missing the playoffs also means that Boston will have to wait to see if it can get their pick in 2020. If the Clippers miss the playoffs this season and next, that first becomes two second-round picks.) That leaves the Raptors as the team most likely to counter with an aggressive move, and it won't be a surprise if Toronto does something significant between now and Thursday afternoon. The Raptors have every incentive to go for it this season. Leonard is a free agent and Toronto has always had to play catch-up to try to convince him to stay. Masai Ujiri has never been scared of making a move. Whether the Raptors can find the right move remains to be seen, but don't expect them to let the deadline pass without turning over every possibility. 5. The race to the bottom of the Western Conference just got easier This also should clear the path for the No. 8 seed to go to the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings or Minnesota Timberwolves.<doc-sep>
The Clippers completed a blockbuster trade, agreeing to trade Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, and Mike Scott to the Philadelphia 76ers for Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks. The concept of a trade between the Sixers and the Clippers was first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, and the details were delivered by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Sources: Clippers and Sixers have agreed to trade Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, Mike Scott for Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, 2020 first-rounder, 2021 unprotected 1st via Miami and two second rounders. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2019 This is the fifth time Harris has been traded in his NBA career, dating back to draft night when he was originally selected by Charlotte. It is the second straight year he has been traded to a different team after LA acquired him in January 2018 in the Blake Griffin trade. He will be moved with his best friend Boban Marjanovic for the second straight season. The Clippers aim to pursue two max-level free agents this summer and would have been unable to re-sign Harris in that scenario. They take on very little future salary as both Chandler and Muscala are on expiring contracts and Shamet will be making less than $2 million in the second year of his rookie contract. LA also adds two additional first-round picks, including the 2021 unprotected Miami Heat first-rounder, which has made its way around the league through Phoenix, Philadelphia, and now Los Angeles. Even as the Clippers have pleasantly surprised this season, the front office has prioritized flexibility and acquiring additional assets. This trade accomplishes both for LA, as the team picks up four draft picks and a promising rookie, and retains its clear cap sheet for the upcoming offseason. Boban was a fan favorite and Mike Scott had been productive off the bench, especially recently, but the real loss in this deal is Harris, who had been the team’s leading scorer. It’s surreal to think that the Clippers traded him on the day he hit a game-winning shot for LA in its win over the Charlotte Hornets, the first team to ever trade him away.