Paul George Blames Losing 'Glue Guys' in James Harden Trade for Clippers' Struggles

Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George expressed his belief this week that some of the depth lost in the trade for James Harden came back to haunt L.A. during the 2023-24 season.

Speaking on his Podcast P, George suggested that losing "glue guys" like Robert Covington, Nicolas Batum and KJ Martin created issues with the roster as a whole:

"We lost RoCo. We lost Nico. Those were our glue guys. Like, that was our defenders. ... KJ Martin as well. That was our energy, our young legs. I think that's kind of where you get to late in the year and we just weren't as good as we could have been. I think losing those guys kind of hurt us. ...

"They would go get rebounds, they would block shots, they would rotate. They were defensive guys. ...They did a lot of the dirty work. ... Now myself, Kawhi [Leonard], we become the dirty guys and have to score too. And it was just a lot."

After starting the season 3-1, the Clippers traded for Harden, P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrušev on Nov. 1, sending Covington, Batum, Martin, Marcus Morris and draft picks to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Los Angeles went on a six-game losing streak after the Harden trade, but it righted the ship with stretches of nine wins in a row and 14 wins in 16 games from December into January.

The Clippers ended up finishing as the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference with a 51-31 record and there were high hopes entering the playoffs, however, they fell to the eventual Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks in six games in the first round.

A lack of quality role players may have contributed to the Clips' playoff shortcomings, although George made it clear that he wasn't blaming Harden, noting that "it's not James' fault," before praising Harden as "awesome" and one of the best passers and playmakers he ever played with.

George, Leonard and Harden formed one of the best and most talented trios in the NBA this past season, as George and Leonard were both All-Stars, while Harden averaged 16.6 points and 8.5 assists per contest.

However, the trade diminished Russell Westbrook's role significantly, and it forced players like Terance Mann, Amir Coffey and Daniel Theis into far bigger roles to replace the likes of Covington, Batum and Martin.

Even with the those glue guys in the fold, the Sixers suffered the same fate as the Clippers, as they fell in the first round of the playoffs in six games to the New York Knicks.

As for the Clippers, big changes could be coming to their roster this offseason, as Harden is set to hit free agency and George can become a free agent if he declines his player option.

The acquisition of Harden was clearly a win-now move made in an effort to capitalize on elite talent before they were past their prime, but it is fair to wonder if the Clippers' championship window is now closed for the foreseeable future.