According to Shams Charania, the Clippers are shopping Terance Mann around the league in order to get more draft picks to trade for James Harden.
The problem with this is the fact that the Sixers want Mann and more picks than the Clippers can offer in any deal. Additionally, Charania notes on the Rally that L.A. is trying to get extra draft capital by shifting swaps on first-round draft picks towards the end of the decade.
With all the noise that is going on with the Clippers when it comes to James Harden, it's hard to see a world where the All-Star isn't a Clipper at some point. While this is true, it should be noted that teams usually don't come to an agreement after negotiations have been stalling for so long. The one difference in this situation is the fact that Harden is not a player that many teams are going after.
As stated many times before, Harden is on his accepted player option and wants a long-term max deal after this season. Since the player is already declining at this point in his career, a lot of teams are not biting on trading for him.
With the Clippers trying to shop Terance Mann for more assets, will a James Harden trade get done before the start of the regular season?
It's hard to say but there are not a lot of worlds where Harden is a Sixer after preseason. At some point, Harden will most likely make things uglier than they've been with Philadelphia if he is not traded. This has happened too many times before and has been speculated to happen by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
At a certain point, the Sixers will have to settle for what the Clippers have unless some mystery team shows up soon. Eventually, it is likely that the All-Star will start to throw a fit and be bad for the team. Also, the Clippers probably want to make this deal sooner than later because they need to integrate Harden into the roster.
While the Clippers will most likely offer the beard an extension if things go well and the team makes it to the Western Conference Finals/NBA Finals, there is a small chance that this is the last major move with Kawhi Leonard or Paul George at the center point of the franchise.
With Los Angeles having three or even two years to get it right with Harden, it is extremely important that this team gets the All-Star as soon as possible. With that in mind, the team is exhausting all possibilities which includes offering Mann to other teams rather than just the Sixers.