Thunderous Intentions
Fansided

The James Harden trade: Five years later

By Austin Sternlicht

TULSA, OK- OCTOBER 3: James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets shoots the ball during the preseason game against the OKC Thunder on October 3, 2017 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Shane Bevel/NBAE via Getty Images)
TULSA, OK- OCTOBER 3: James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets shoots the ball during the preseason game against the OKC Thunder on October 3, 2017 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Shane Bevel/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Russell Westbrook
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Looking back, it’s clear that trading Harden was a mistake. The Thunder never got back to the finals after letting their rising star go. Of course, some will argue key injures were as detrimental, if not more than the trade. Russell Westbrook had three surgeries on his meniscus, causing him to miss most of the 2013 playoffs, as well as a significant amount of the 2014 season. Ibaka missed the first two games of the 2014 Western Conference Finals, and wasn’t the same upon returning. Durant missed 55 games in 2015 with three foot surgeries. Nobody will ever know what could have been if at least one of these devastating injuries never occurred.

Then again, it’s important to remember that Westbrook injured his meniscus after Patrick Beverley charged at Westbrook on a questionable play during the 2013 playoffs. If Harden never gets traded to Houston, the Rockets don’t make the playoffs that year. And if the Rockets don’t make the playoffs that year, this infamous play never happens. Yes it’s a silly hypothetical, but it goes back to the idea of why trading stars in-conference, can be a bad idea.

The Thunder may have assembled a new big three, but the Harden trade will live with this franchise forever. On September 6th, ESPN Jeremias Engelmann made a list of the most lopsided trades in NBA history. The Harden trade made the cut. On October 13th, Bleacher Report’s Adam Fromal listed the worst move each franchise has made the past decade. You’ll never guess what the Thunder’s was. Sports Illustrated made a list of the 13 worst trades in NBA history. The Harden trade was among them.

On one of his many appearances on the Bill Simmons Podcast, Kevin Durant was asked about some of the biggest “what ifs” of his career. The options were as follows. What if he was drafted first overall instead of Oden? And, what if Klay Thompson didn’t go berserk in game 6 of the 2016 Western Conference Finals? What if his injury last season when Zaza Pachulia crashed into his knee had ended his season? And of course, what if James Harden wasn’t traded?

Durant picked the Harden trade.

You get the point. The only way the Thunder organization will truly be able to move on from this discussion is if they can win a championship in the foreseeable future. Even with a revamped team, it’s going to be incredibly difficult with the juggernaut Warriors.

It’s not a hot take to say the Thunder’s best chance to win a title are behind them. It will unfortunately just lead to more questions about what could have been.

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