Bill Simmons drops a crazy theory amid James Harden speculation
Recently, the NBA world was rocked when Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannick and ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Los Angeles Clippers surprise trade talks in a relationship James Hardenwith Named Cleveland Cavaliers as a possible landing place. A trade with Cleveland would likely land the Clippers point guard Darius Garland, and no one in the basketball world seems to have seen that coming.
While the prevailing theory seems to be that Harden approached the Clippers about wanting out, recently, Bill Simmons by The Ringer floated another interesting theory on social networks.
“Are we sure Harden called it quits? Or… Did LAC actually go along with the Garland/Harden trade, then ask a surprised Harden to give up his 15% trade kicker to make it work because of Cleve’s second apron? Then Harden said ‘Fine, but I want an extension.’ The Cavs said no. So Harden said, ‘I’m out!'” Simpons wondered on X, formerly Twitter.
Fans in the comments section had their thoughts on the idea, with one pointing out a problem with Simmons’ theory.
“Harden is not eligible for an extension at all. Cleveland can’t extend him now, or 5 days from now, or even at the end of the season. The only way to ‘extend’ Harden is to opt out of the joint option this summer and then extend him from there,” one user noted.
“Yeah we’re sure because this literally can’t happen,” joked another.
Whatever the real reason for the sudden trade talks, it’s safe to say Clippers fans were blindsided by the news, especially considering the team has been playing great basketball for over a month now and is slowly climbing the Western Conference standings as a result.
While Garland is a solid player who is theoretically just reaching his prime, Clippers fans have generally come to love Harden for his resurgence in Los Angeles, and the prospect of losing him is not something anyone expected.
2026-02-03 18:54:00
