48 Minutes Emergency Pod: James Harden Traded to Clippers

0:00 ... Animation and hello ... James Harden is now a member of the LA Clippers

0:52 ... Ross summarizes who went where and what assets were exchanged between the 76ers and Clippers

1:11 ... Bet OnLine live commercial read

1:48 ... Bruce's initial reaction was to wonder if this trade was more of a Steve Ballmer marketing move than a Lawrence Frank/Ty Lue basketball move.

2:26 ... World B feels that the Clippers took a big swing that will get them closer to a championship

2:55 ... Ross says LA is now "all in." He feels Ty Lue will find a way to make this deal work.

3:40 ... Bruce feels that Robert Covington has come full circle from his days in Philly as a member of the bottom feeding "trust the process" teams and is now on a Philly team this is far better. Marcus Morris is a Philly native who also returns to his hometown at age 34

4:35 ... Ross thinks Morris will play some quality minutes for the Sixers

4:58 ... Ross points out that the Clippers have very few homegrown guys on the roster but will be competitive in the loaded Pacific Division. He adds that Sixers GM Daryl Morey did well in the deal.

6:30 ... World B feels Morey is definitely looking ahead by dumping salary in this deal, but is concerned that Joel Embiid might have another wasted season while in his prime.

7:39 ... Bruce on whether the Sixers are better or worse off without Harden. He liked some of the role players Philly acquired but realizes that they'll take a step backward in the short term before using the newly acquired draft assets to hopefully get immediate help for Embiid.

9:23 ... World B wonders if Morey is the guy to make the right deals that will help convince Embiid to not demand a trade.

10:57 ... Ross will be interested to see how Morey uses the draft assets and he felt Morey got a good haul for Harden. Ross thinks maybe the Sixers will try to get some of new coach Nick Nurse's former Toronto guys in a deal.

11:58 ... World B is a huge fan of Pascal Siakam and feels if Philly can get him, they are a major threat in the postseason.

12:36 ... Bruce is not a fan of this deal for LA and questions Harden's commitment to winning, but he does like PJ Tucker coming to LA. However, Bruce is wary because it's an aging team with recent injury troubles and Harden is also old and has been injured in recent years.

14:00 ... Can Russell Westbrook and Harden co-exist? World B feels Russ can adapt to having a "ball dominant" Harden next to him on the court. Harden can still have a positive impact as he showed last season.

16:31 ... The guys all like PJ Tucker in LA because both LeBron James and Kevin Durant are now in the same division as PJ and both of those stars have nightmares about him guarding them.

17:19 .... Bruce has a couple of quick thoughts on Harden. He dislikes his style, thinks he has little impact on winning, and is a fantasy league stud because he fills up a box score. Bruce praised his work last season but wonders if it was a mirage. James wants to be paid for his past achievements but he forgot that the NBA is also a business and aging stars have a limited market for their services if they want max money.

18:57 ... Ross thinks Harden's presence might take some heat off Kawhi Leonard if the Clippers underachieve moving forward.

19:25 ... World B feels like Harden gives Ty Lue enough flexibility to rest some of his other older players. But Harden will be judged by his playoff performance in LA.

21:26 ... Bruce sizes up the Clippers and Sixers' playoff prospects but doesn't think LA will finish higher than #5 in the west. He feels Philly will finish somewhere between 3-6 in the east.

22:24 ... World B feels Philly is still a playoff team, but a badly diminished one. World B likes the Clippers' prospects for this season.

23:26 ... Ross agrees the Clippers have more talent than the Lakers and feels they'll be stronger moving forward and could be a conference finalist. Ross feels that Morey needs to make a deal to help convince Embiid to stay in Philly.

24:49 ... Ross says goodbye

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