Kawhi on Clips’ slide: ‘Time is now’ to play better

The Los Angeles Clippers have stepped away from trade talks with the Philadelphia 76ers on James Harden for a second time. The Clippers initially walked away from trade talks with the Sixers in August, which was followed by Harden publicly calling Daryl Morey “a liar” during an event in China.

“I’m told with the start of the season now, at least for the foreseeable future, the Clippers are stepping back from these trade talks about James Harden,” said Adrian Wojnarowski. “They are essentially pausing them. They have talked with Philadelphia for months about a trade. They have made their best offer for Harden. They are now going to start their season and see what this team looks like with a healthy Kawhi Leonard and a healthy Paul George.

“The Clippers may revisit this at some point, but they know they are the only bidder for James Harden. They are the only team who has made a serious offer. They don’t want to bid against themselves.

“While the Clippers may revisit this later in the season, I think the Sixers have to wonder ‘Have we already gotten the best offer we’re going to get for James Harden?’ Especially as the games start to peel off the calendar and if you’re the Clippers, why offer more when there’s fewer and fewer games that James Harden can play for you?”