There is nothing surprising about another James Harden trade

James Harden is ready to move on. That tracks. Given his history, no one should be surprised. And yet somehow the Clippers seemed surprised.

On Monday evening, news broke that the Clippers were talking to the Cavaliers. By Tuesday, reports had those discussions accelerating, with the idea being a Harden for Darius Garland swap in some form. Sure. There is a cycle to these things for Harden. Every few years something happens in one location that makes him want to move on to another location, and then he goes to that new place and likes it fine until he doesn’t. The Clippers were evidently unfamiliar with that game.

Told of Harden’s pending departure, Kawhi Leonard said “that’s a surprise.” John Collins went further.

Oh, John. John, John, John, John…JOHN. To be so innocent and unsuspecting. 

For the moment we’ll put aside the part where Collins is shocked that Harden’s well-known wandering eye has once again cast his sights elsewhere. But it’s hard to blame the guy for being disappointed. As he mentioned, after a rough start, the Clippers have been considerably better of late. Since December 20, they’re 17-5. That’s the best mark in the NBA — but apparently still not good enough for Harden.

There could be any number of reasons for Harden seeking this latest divorce, but the most likely catalyst is money. Harden has a player option for next season at $42.3 million. He’s 36 years old. The man would almost certainly like to decline that and sign a deal with more years that will carry him into retirement. The Clippers are perhaps unwilling to go that route even though Harden has played quality basketball in Los Angeles and put up good numbers. The roster is ancient and the Clippers surely know this era will be over sooner than later. It’s also possible that, despite the Clippers playing well over the last month and a half, Harden is reading the tea leaves on the still-pending Kawhi Leonard/Aspiration cap circumvention investigation and decided to get out while the getting is good. 

But as we’ve learned, getting out is always good for Harden. It’s standard operating procedure. Which is part of what makes John Collins being “shocked” about Harden wanting to leave L.A. so, well, shocking. When Harden decided his time was up in Houston, he famously showed up looking bloated. And then off he went to Brooklyn, where he reunited with Kevin Durant and he was happy — until he wasn’t. That led to him reconnecting with his good friend Daryl Morey and moving to Philly, where the Sixers general manager remained his good friend — until he wasn’t. 

The Philly uncoupling was an all-timer even for Harden. While in China in front of some confused children he called Morey a liar and vowed to never play for the Sixers again.

And then for good measure he threw a party complete with signs that read “Daryl Morey is a liar.” Why opt for subtlety and diplomacy when you can get an entire club to say it with their whole chest?

And so Harden left Philly, and now he is poised to leave Los Angeles and then who knows maybe he’ll leave Cleveland and somewhere else before he’s done. It’s how his career has gone because it’s how he wants it to go. That is his prerogative, though it’s curious that team after team keeps opting into the James Harden For a Limited Time Only Experience. You’d expect by now that the next team would see how it worked out for all the other organizations before them and that would give them pause. As so many jokers rightly pointed out on social media, it’s the Arrested Development meme where all the other people in the same situation had been deluding themselves — but it might work for us. 

It’s been an uneven year for the Cavs. They got off to a slow start and have only lately started to stabilize. Donovan Mitchell has been asked to do a lot of heavy lifting. There have been injuries to Evan Mobley who is dealing with a calf issue and Garland, who has played just 26 games and remains out with a right toe sprain. Garland is a decade younger than Harden but maybe the Cavs don’t think they can wait for him to fully mend and once again play like the two-time All-Star he was in previous seasons. Maybe Cleveland looks at the Eastern Conference and, after a disappointing playoff exit last postseason, thinks it’s worth shaking up the roster in the hopes of making a run. OK. There’s a certain logic to that. It’s harder to land on the answer being the itinerant, aging, high-usage guard who wants more money please and thank you and will surely be scoping out the exits as soon as he walks in the entrance. 

If and when Harden moves on, it would be his fifth team in five years. The first four didn’t win anything. But hey, Harden is talented and sometimes that can be blinding. After the Clippers lost to the Sixers on Monday — a game that Harden did not play in for obvious reasons — Clippers head coach Ty Lue was asked about the situation and said “who wouldn’t want James Harden?”

 Considering [waives hand in the direction of the teams Harden has left in his wake], who would?