In Houston, James Harden and Russell Westbrook made a solid pairing but it wasn’t long before Westbrook was sent packing to the Washington Wizards. In their lone season together, Russ and James got Houston to the second round of the playoffs before they lost to the Clippers in a five game series.

Nobody thought the two would ever reunite as teammates, but here in 2023, it looks like there’s a good chance that could be what happens. This time, it will be on the Clippers, which is a team that Harden has long admired. Apparently, Harden’s desire to play there only increased after they re-signed Russ, and the two have been reported to be ‘very close.’

“For what it’s worth, I’ve been told that James Harden’s desire to be traded to the Clippers was made even stronger once they officially re-signed Russell Westbrook. The two are still very close, and Harden wants to play with Russ again,” wrote Clippers beat writer Joey Linn.

Westbrook helped transform the Clippers last season, who were kind of trudging along with no real identity. With Russ, they were able to play faster and looser, which no doubt helped inspire their late-season push.

Of course, injuries got the best of LAC in the end, but the loss wasn’t Westbrook’s fault and it seems he earned a permanent role on the team after his efforts to lead them without Kawhi and Paul George in the 2023 playoffs.

Will Harden Land With The Clippers?

At the moment, only the Clips have been identified as Harden’s preferred team which means that the Sixers have very little leverage in the situation. But it’s no secret that James is at odds with the team and, specifically, team President Daryl Morey for how they handled his free agency.

“The relationship between James Harden and Daryl Morey is essentially severed, it’s essentially fractured throughout this process,” said NBA insider Shams Charania. “There’s no longer that vow of open-ended trust that we’ve seen over the course of 692 games that Daryl Morey and James Harden have been together. When James Harden opted in, the decision to work together on a trade stemmed from James Harden believing that there was no real intention from the Sixers on giving him a long-term offer.”

It may take some time before this saga comes to a close, but it’s clear now that James Harden covets a reunion with Russell Westbrook and there’s no reason to think the Clippers won’t make it happen. Of course, with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George also on the roster, the potential new-look Clips will be a team to fear in the West.