What the James Harden Trade Means for the NBA

Before we really dive into the nitty-gritty, here is the full James Harden trade between the Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers:

So what does this mean? For the two teams involved it is going to completely alter the future of their franchises. The Clippers have officially gone all in on the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George tandem, and the 76ers are a Joel Embiid departure away from the process part two. Let's talk about how this trade affects each team, as well as the league as a whole.

Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers very clearly won this trade, not having to send Terance Mann or really any pivotal young players to Philly looks great on them here. However, it is officially win now mode for the Clippers. I predict that this team has two years at the most to compete for a championship, as all three of their stars are about as unreliable as it gets. We have barely seen Paul George and Kawhi Leonard on the floor together over the course of their partnership, and now they're adding another guy who is renowned for being unreliable. You have to assume that they will play more than they usually do because of the new load management rules, but all three of these guys are incredibly injury prone. When they do play they should be very good. They did lose some depth in the trade, but I think they are still above average in that department. My ceiling for them this year is finishing second in the West and losing in the WCF, and my floor is the seventh seed and losing in the first round after making it out of the play-in.

pc:Frank Franklin II/AP

Philadelphia 76ers

Man, the 76ers really are an under the radar awful franchise. We all knew that a few years ago, but when they started to look like a legitimate contender people forgot about their decade of woes. Just a few years ago they had a core of Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, and Ben Simmons. Then they dealt Jimmy away in one of the worst trades of all-time. A few years and a few Ben Simmons fraudulent seasons later and they paired Embiid up with James Harden in a deal that sent Simmons to Brooklyn. That experiment failed miserably, and now it's just Embiid holding down the fort in Philadelphia.

So what does this trade mean for the 76ers? Well it means a few things. It means Joel Embiid's usage is going to skyrocket, and he now has a fantastic chance at winning MVP again. However, it also means they have no chance of winning a championship. Most thought this was the case when Harden was still playing for the team, so it's especially true now. Tyrese Maxey is a fantastic young player, but he's not enough to push this team over the edge. My prediction? I think this is Embiid's last year as a 76er. He knows as well as we do that the team needs to begin their second rebuild, and this time it may have to be around Maxey. Embiid is going to chase a superstar teammate (or teammates) and contend for a title elsewhere. Where this will be I'm not sure. Maybe Miami? Maybe even a place like Memphis. All I know is that the next few years of 76ers basketball is going to be bleak, but I guess we're just going to have to trust the process.

pc: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images