Apr 19, 2017 I've seen Russell Westbrook get more criticism for KD departure than OKC management. Russell Westbrook being a tad selfish as a player has been known since he came into the league; it's the moves management made that truly led to the departure of KD. This is the last time we saw Harden, KD, Russ, and Ibaka on the same team. They beat the reigning world champion Mavs, a veteran lakers squad, and the #1 seed spurs to reach the finals. They did this losing only 3 games in the process. Ultimately they were no match for a hungry Heat squad led by Lebron looking for his 1st championship ring but their future was extremely bright. A team led by 23 year old Kevin Durant, 23 year old Russell Westbrook, 22 year old James Harden, and 22 year old Serge Ibaka had just reached the NBA finals and they were still 5-6 years away from being in their prime. They were clearly the most promising team in the NBA at that moment in time. With 3 of their big 4 under contract for the next season all that was left was resigning James Harden, the reigning 6th man of the year.. OKC offered James Harden a contract worth 54 million for 4 years. James Harden wanted a full max extension worth 60 million over 4 years (a figure he was most certainly worthy of.) OKC management wanting to maintain financial flexibility was not willing to go over the cap to resign James Harden so they traded him to Houston for some picks, Kevin Martin, and some filler players that amounted to nothing. This by far was the worst decision I've seen in NBA history. Here are some of the excuses made for making that ridiculous trade. 1. Harden didn't want to be a 6th man no more. Completely false. He was willing to resign to OKC. He was playing a ton of minutes anyway and he was closing games with KD and Westbrook. That wasn't an issue. 2. Harden was being greedy. Another false claim. Harden was, even at that point, a top 25 player. Every team with a need and money would have given him a max contract. Because he was playing with Westbrook and KD, he wasn't able to get a 5 year contract. All he wanted was what he was clearly worth; a max extension worth 60 mil. 3. OKC couldn't afford James Harden. This is true and false. OKC didn't want to go over the cap to resign Harden, which is why they offered a 4 year 54 million dollar contract. However they could have: - Amnestied Perkins to free 9 mil a year to free up space to give Harden the max - Signed Harden over Ibaka. Harden was clearly the better player at that time. - Just go over the cap. Their core was all in their early 20's and we've already seen their potential as a group. If there was ever a reason to go over the cap it would be to keep a young championship caliber team together. OKC management chose the bottom line over winning a championship. They already had a championship level roster and they were all young. They were suppose to be what the warriors are now. But now Serge on the Raptors, KD on the Warriors, and James Harden in Houston are all in better positions to compete for a title than OKC.
