Nets fans went right for a sore spot, chanting 'Daryl Morey' while James Harden was at the free throw line early in his second game for the Clippers. Morey, the general manager for the 76ers and former GM for the Rockets, had a rocky split with Harden in the offseason after many years of having a successful partnership. It seemed like Morey and Harden had a disagreement about promises that were made around Harden's desire to be traded.
To be quite honest, the NBA is business and the Sixers were completely justified in not giving Harden a max deal. The Clippers ended up playing hardball and the two teams had to wait until the start of the regular season to get a deal done. The Clippers lost their first game against the Knicks with the starting lineup playing horribly.
In this game, the Clippers allowed Lonnie Walker to go off for 21 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor. L.A. also shot horribly in this game and continued to look undersized. The team shot horribly from 3 which forced the Clippers into a big hole early on.
With the early results in, did Daryl Morey ended making the right decision trading James Harden?
It seems like the Sixers are playing a lot better and have been able to have more of a free-flowing offense without Harden. Also considering the fact that the former MVP would have been rapidly declining on a max deal, trading the star was the right move for the Sixers. Philly has to find a way to get upgrades before the trade deadline or this offseason to keep Joel Embiid in town but they are armed with first-round picks to do exactly that.
Of course, it hasn't hurt that Tyrese Maxey has been balling out for the squad. For the Clippers, the early returns for the trade have been mixed. It is way too early for the Clippers' analysis on this trade but the team doesn't have enough size.
Harden has been able to dish the ball out as a playmaker but he clearly can't solve the Clippers size problem. The Clippers will most likely get a lot of regular season wins with Harden on the team but if the team wants to go far this season, they will need a good rebounding big.
