The Oklahoma City Thunder were one of the teams that rose through the ranks back in the early 2010s. Boasting a trio of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden, the Thunder would have been on the verge of winning an NBA title, had Harden not left the team. And now, it turns out, it was LeBron James and Dwayne Wade behind Harden’s departure, breaking up the Thunder core.
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Making an appearance on Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson’s Road Trippin podcast, Kendrick Perkins revealed what actually went down back in 2012.
Perkins was part of the Thunder squad back then. He recalled having this conversation with Kevin Durant as soon as the OKC trio came back from competing in the Olympics. And as a matter of fact, Durant was right.
“KD said, ‘Man, we about to lose James and it’s not about the money…We about to lose James because when we was over there in the Olympics, Bron, D-Wade all those guys were telling James, ‘Bro, you’re too nice bro to be coming off the bench. You’re a number one option. You need to have your own team.’”
Kendrick Perkins says players on the 2012 Olympic team were the reason the OKC Thunder broke up pic.twitter.com/ZQV64VwYWX
— 2Cool2Blog (@2Cool2Blog) August 12, 2024
It only took the Thunder front office two months to trade Harden to the Houston Rockets. In all fairness, the Thunder did offer James a contract extension, but it was too late by then. His head was already in the clouds with how much he was hyped by the other stars on Team USA.
But looking back at it, Harden made the right move when it came to what’s best for him. He went on to become an MVP with the Rockets, putting up historic numbers on a nightly basis. And that is where Fear The Beard was born.
The Beard became the scoring champion thrice, leading the league in points per game. Harden also helped the Rockets make it to the Western Conference Finals. Had it not been for Chris Paul’s injury, the Rockets could’ve gotten past the Warriors to make it to the NBA Finals.
As for what could’ve been if Harden had chosen to stay with the Thunder? Well, it is yet another ‘What Could’ve Been’ story that NBA fans will never get to find out.
Harden was heartbroken after the trade
The James Harden trade is often regarded as one of the worst trades in NBA history. As per Perkins, money was not an issue when the Thunder tried to re-sign Harden. However, as per BasketballNetwork, that wasn’t the case.
The Thunder offered Harden $55.5 million for four years which was $4.5 million less than what he wanted. The Beard felt he had sacrificed enough for the team, coming off the bench. But he did not expect the OKC front office to pull the trigger and trade him instead.
Harden opened up about the shocking trade in an interview with Times Magazine.
“I was almost in tears. Me and Russell knew each other from when we played at the Boys and Girls Club together as kids. Me and Kevin hung out like every day…We got better every year. My third year we made it to the Finals and lost to Miami. After that summer we all went to the Olympics together. Win a gold medal. After that, I’m like, ‘This is our year.’ Every year we lost to the team that won the championship.”
Could the Thunder have won a title if they chose to give Harden the contract extension he had asked for? Again, it is something for you to ponder upon.
