A few days after the dust has settled from the blockbuster trade to send James Harden from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Los Angeles Clippers, the one-time NBA MVP appears ready to make his debut for his new team.
Along with all the questions about what the starting lineup will look like for the Clippers, head coach Tyronn Lue is now dealing with questions about whether he’ll put a minutes restriction on Harden to start his stint in Los Angeles.
With Harden not playing basketball in quite some time, it is safe to assume that Lue and his coaching staff won’t want to rush him back on the floor and risk injury in the process.
That said, Lue made it clear that there won’t be a minutes restriction on the superstar guard, but they will be smart about his usage moving forward, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk.
Asked Ty Lue if there will be any restrictions on James Harden. Lue said he had to talk to medical today. He said this 4-day break is more a physical ramp up. Minutes could be monitored. “It won’t be no crazy restrictions, but we want to be smart.”
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) November 3, 2023
From here on out, the main storyline about the Clippers will be about Lue and how he manages these four stars in Los Angeles, especially if Russell Westbrook or Harden are forced to come off the bench.
The smart move would be to have Westbrook come off the bench like he did with the Los Angeles Lakers, even though he wasn’t fond of the role.
Lue could also go full boar and ride with all four stars in the lineup at the same time to start the game and see where that goes, but it is uncertain what he will do at this point, as he has a difficult decision to make.
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