James Harden's Trade Request Stunned the NBA on Monday Night | HOOPS, 2/3/26
Harden wants out (again), the Hornets complete a 22-point comeback for their 7th straight win, and more.
The Tip-Off: James Harden Wants Out?!
It was a little weird when James Harden was ruled out ahead of the Clippers’ matchup vs. his former team the 76ers on Monday but I don’t think anyone was prepared for the bomb that dropped during the game.
Shams Charania broke the news that Harden and the Clippers were actively working on a trade, with talks already pretty advanced with the Cavaliers on a potential Harden for Darius Garland swap. Stunning news for a few reasons:
1 - The Clippers have been resurgent as of late, playing their way up into play-in contention after one of the worst starts we’ve ever seen. Requesting a trade now makes way less sense.
2 - Cleveland just traded for Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis, why go even further and bring in Harden?
3 - Harden has a $42M player option for 2026-27 and will be looking for one more long-term deal. Reportedly the Clippers’ not signing him is what’s led to this trade demand. If he goes to Cleveland they either lock themselves in to multiple expensive years of Harden, already 36-years old OR they traded away a 26-year old All-Star guard for a half a season of Harden hoping he can get them over the hump in the playoffs.1
Also, shoutout Kawhi Leonard who had the perfect response when asked about Harden’s trade request.
This truly floored me when I saw the report. Harden’s trade request, the Cavs’ high interest, all of it is just so out of left field.2
Recapping Monday’s Four-Game Slate
Pelicans - 95, at Hornets - 102
The Hornets officially have their longest single-season winning streak since 2016 as they collected their seventh-straight in dramatic fashion vs. the Pelicans.
Down as many as 22pts, Charlotte took advantage of poor shooting from the Pelicans to outscore them 53-31 and pull off the comeback despite Trey Murphy’s game-high 27-point performance.
This game had everything, including a dramatic injury scare as LaMelo Ball crashed into his own head coach, Charles Lee, while trying to make a play on the ball.
Fortunately, LaMelo was able to come back to the game, scoring six of his 24 in the second half. I do want to shoutout how good Grant Williams (16pts/9r in 20 min) has been recently for the Hornets too. He’s been an ideal type of vet for this team, which is not something I was expecting to say earlier on in the season.
Also, this game being so early (3pm est/12pm pst) was fantastic. Since I work my day job from home, I love being able to put on basketball while I work.
Rockets - 118, at Pacers - 114
Games like this are why I can’t quit this Pacers team. Despite having just 13 wins on the season, this was a physical matchup that felt a lot like the Pacers heard all the noise around Pascal Siakam being an undeserving All-Star selection.
They battled all game long against a Rockets team without Kevin Durant, who missed a game due to injury for the first time this season after suffering a sprained ankle from stepping on a fan’s foot recently.3
Alperen Sengun (39pts/16r/5a) stepped up big time, especially when it came to getting to the foul line. He forced the issue all night to the tune of a 13-18 FT performance. Almost as many as the entire Pacers team attempted all night (16-21).
Ultimately though, this felt like it came down to Indiana just not having enough firepower to support Pascal Siakam (27pts/4r/5a) and Benedict Mathurin (25pts/4r/5a off the bench).
Timberwolves - 128, at Grizzlies - 137
This is the exact type of game that frustrates me with the Timberwolves. How does this team give up 137 points vs. a Grizzlies team that was missing several key rotational players? It was a huge offensive night for Anthony Edwards (39pts/7r) and Jaden McDaniels (29pts, 11-14 FG) but they just couldn’t stop Memphis.
Special shoutout to Ty Jerome (19pts/8a/6r) who played in just his second game this season and stuffed the stat sheet with an action-packed 20 minutes that helped set the tone for this Memphis group. It’s so fun to watch him hooping again.
76ers - 128, at Clippers - 113
Obviously this game was overshadowed by something a bit more dramatic but we already talked about that up at the top of the newsletter so I’ll try and focus on the game.
I just… you’d think James Harden would’ve requested the trade before the team went on this crazy 12-5 in their last 17 run that’s gotten them back into the play-in picture right…?
Ok anyways, how about Dominick Barlow (26pts/16r) for the 76ers huh? If this is the type of performance he’s going to provide in place of Paul George for the next 25 games then Philly may be in pretty good shape. Also, I feel like VJ Edgecombe (5pts, 1-11 FG) may be hitting the rookie wall (points, 3pt percent, assists, and free throws are all down over the last 10 games) and I’m hoping that the All-Star break can help rejuvenate him for the second half of the season.
For the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard (29pts/6a/4r) led the way but outside of Jordan Miller off the bench (21pts/4r, 9-10 FG) there wasn’t much else support. If Harden is truly out the door, this team better hope they can actually pull off this rumored Darius Garland/Harden swap because without a lead guard creating for everyone else, this offense is going to become extremely one-dimensional very fast.
Players of the Week
At the Buzzer
- Devin Booker and Diana Taurasi go golfing together
- Jason Kidd fined $35K for criticizing refs following Saturday loss vs Rockets
- Steph Curry to miss Tuesday’s game vs. 76ers with “runner’s knee”4
- Someone on the Wolves’ bench had words for ref Ed Malloy
- I love this response from Dwyane Wade regarding being coached by Stan Van Gundy
- NBC and Peacock to announce NBA All-Star Game rosters tonight
Key Games Tonight
Nuggets at Pistons
Hawks at Heat
Magic at Thunder
76ers at Warriors
Suns at Trail Blazers
Thank you for hanging out for this Tuesday edition of HOOPS, I hope you enjoyed today’s newsletter. More importantly, I hope everyone reading this is doing okay right now and enjoying a good start to the week. Take care.
Because when you think playoff specialist you think James Harden right?
Not to shamelessly promote myself but this was all I could think about as the news about Harden’s request broke. Feel free to subscribe the HOOPS YouTube if you’d like to see more videos/breakdowns/memes etc…
KD has missed two other games back in November but that was due to personal reasons
This typically means swelling and pain around the kneecap area specifically.