The James Harden trade: Five years later

Speaking of Presti, it is his legacy that may be most affected by this trade, In the immediate years that followed, Presti was labeled as cheap and overly-cautious. He’s made some incredible trades over the past year alone. Essentially Presti turned Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis, Enes Kanter, and Doug McDermott into Paul George and Carmelo Anthony. But even so, he may never be able to live past this infamous swap.

One of the big misconceptions about this trade is that the Thunder chose Ibaka over Harden. Two months before Harden was traded, the Thunder signed Ibaka to a 4-year 48 million dollar deal. But, the Thunder weren’t choosing between Harden and Ibaka. They were really choosing between Harden and Russell Westbrook. Westbrook was clearly the better player at the time, and it’s certainly more acceptable to say he remains the better player.

There is a small portion of fans that wonder what would have happened if the Thunder had traded Westbrook instead of Harden. There are two main reasons in favor of this argument. The first is the Thunder would have gotten a much better package in return. The second is that Durant may not have left if Harden was on the team instead of Westbrook. It’s certainly an interesting argument, but it seems crazy to think Harden would have become the player he is today if he were still on the Thunder.

The bigger issue here is why the Thunder had to chose between anybody. Again, Harden still had one year left on his rookie scale deal. The Thunder could have gone into the season with all three stars and let Harden go to restricted free agency. Then, after the season ended, could have matched any offer. To make room for the money he would have earned, the Thunder could have dumped salaries like Kendrick Perkins. But money was only part of the issue. The Thunder had legitimate fears Harden would demand to start and have a larger role, thus creating an uncomfortable locker room atmosphere, similar to what the Reggie Jackson situation eventually became.

Starting could certainly have been feasible, but the Thunder have always had a defense-first mentality. It’s why Thabo Sefolosha started during the Harden days, and it’s why Andre Roberson is starting now. If there’s one negative about Harden’s game, it’s his defense. And in terms of a larger role, it would have been difficult. Durant, Westbrook and Harden are all-ball dominant players. With only one ball, it could have been a challenge to get all three desirable touches.

Nevertheless, the Thunder decided to play it safe and ship Harden off. To Harden’s credit, it was clearly the right decision for his career. Again, it’s difficult to see how Harden could have become half the player he is now had he stayed in Oklahoma City. He just signed a 4-year $228 million dollar contract, something he could never have received with the Thunder.