NFL

Bears receive: Montez Sweat
Commanders receive: 2024 second-round pick

Sweat is an excellent edge rusher and is on track to have the best season of his five-year career, but the Bears are overpaying for the impending free agent. Sweat, even with his 6.5 sacks through eight games, doesn’t make sense on a Bears team with little to no chance at making the playoffs. In wake of this acquisition, it would be wise for Ryan Poles and Chicago to ink Sweat to a long-term deal, ideally before the 27-year-old hits free agency.

At 3-5 and playing in a tough division, the Commanders’ hopes this season are pretty dim. While it’s hard to move on from a talented defender in the prime of his career, this trade makes sense for Washington, given the draft selection gained in return.

Bears Grade: C-
Commanders Grade: B

NBA

76ers receive: Robert Covington, Nicolas Batum, Kenyon Martin Jr., Marcus Morris, 2028 first-round pick, first-round pick swap, additional first-round pick and two second-round picks
Clippers receive: James Harden, P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrusev

The relationship between the 76ers and James Harden, or at the very least, between Daryl Morey and Harden, became untenable, so moving the 10-time All-Star is the right move. I wasn’t expecting the 76ers to receive as much draft compensation in exchange for Harden as they did in this deal — picks that can help the franchise retool its roster around Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The four players received in this deal by Philadelphia should provide some added depth, which is always helpful during the 82-game slate.

Harden is still an All-Star caliber player, and no team would reject adding one of those to its roster, but this trade gives the Clippers yet another cook in the kitchen — a kitchen with just one basketball to go around. Despite questions about Harden’s fit, this trade clearly makes Los Angeles’ roster for this season better, which might be all that matters when the window for the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George era might be closing. The picks surrendered by the Clippers in this transaction are valuable, but it won’t matter if the club is having its first championship parade next June. That’s unlikely, though.

76ers Grade: B+
Clippers Grade: C+