James Harden publicly called his boss a liar and swore he would never again play for the Philadelphia 76ers.

So he won’t – the 10-time All-Star with a history of trade demands only slightly shorter than his signature beard is on the move to this fifth NBA team, chasing his first championship this time in his native California.

Harden joins Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook to shape a core group of veterans trying to win the Los Angeles Clippers their first NBA championship in franchise history.

The 76ers are simply trying to move on from the Harden Headache and continue their own long shot bid at a title behind NBA MVP Joel Embiid and star-in-waiting Tyrese Maxey.

The final haul was yet to be settled on Tuesday – Coach Nick Nurse and Maxey danced around the trade following practice – but the key parts of the trade were this: the 76ers sent Harden, P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrušev to Los Angeles for Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, K.J. Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round draft pick, two second-round picks, a 2029 draft-pick swap and an additional first-rounder from a third team, a person familiar with the trade told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the final details of the trade are not yet official.

Maxey texted the 34-year-old Harden when news of the deal broke overnight – Nurse said he slept through the trade call – and thanked his former teammate for his contributions in 79 total regular-season games with the 76ers.

The longer the Harden melodrama lingered in Philly, the greater chance the situation would eventually implode. Harden – now traded by Houston, Brooklyn and the 76ers in each of the past three seasons – had long wanted to play in Philadelphia.

Harden and team president Daryl Morey, who was not available for comment, were first allies when they were in Houston. Harden was a league MVP and had scoring titles for the Rockets. But when the Rockets went into a rebuild, Harden issued his first ultimatum and forced his way to Brooklyn in 2021. He joined Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in a “Big Three” that was never very big. The trio was socked by injuries and other controversies and played only 18 games together before Harden wanted out.

So it was off to Philly at the 2022 trade deadline in a deal for Simmons.

He was reunited with Morey and seemed comfortable in his role as a playmaker while the offense ran through Embiid. Harden even declined his $47.4 million option in June 2022, saying he wanted to give the 76ers financial flexibility to improve their roster and compete for a championship. He signed a below-market deal worth slightly more than $68 million, paying him about $33 million last season with a $35.6 million player option for this one.

Harden led the NBA in assists last season with 10.7 per game, but it was his 22 total points in Games 6 and 7 losses that doomed the Sixers when they lost in the second round to Boston.

Part of Harden’s complaint with the Sixers stemmed from the belief he should have earned a long-term contract. When he didn’t, Harden was determined to sever ties with the Sixers, and called Morey a liar at an August promotional event in China.

HEAT: Miami has taken pride in its culture for years. Now, the Heat’s culture is at the center of the team’s new uniform campaign.

The Heat formally unveiled their new City Edition uniform with the words “Heat Culture” across the chest designed to reflect the standard established by current Heat president and former Heat coach Pat Riley when he joined the organization in 1995.

“It’s pretty much just stating our identity and putting it on our chest,” Heat executive vice president and chief marketing officer Michael McCullough said.

The Heat will debut their new City Edition uniform in Friday night’s game against the Washington Wizards at Kaseya Center.

As part of the reveal, the team described the new look in a press release: “Heat Culture is a set of core shared values, expectations, commitments, and customs that inform how Miami operates as a team and an organization. This version of the City Edition uniform serves as the embodiment of that philosophy, which maintains the standard of getting 1% better every day.”

TUESDAY’S GAME

KNICKS 109, CAVALIERS 91: Julius Randle had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored 19 points and visiting New York did not trail in the final three quarters.

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