Kendrick Perkins talked about how James Harden left the OKC Thunder in 2012 and how LeBron James and Dwyane Wade influenced him.
One of the biggest “what ifs” in the NBA is the 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder. After reaching the NBA Finals in 2012, the Thunder parted ways with their successful duo.
From 2007 to 2009, the OKC Thunder drafted three future MVPs: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden.
This legendary trio quickly developed into a great team, leading a young OKC team to the NBA Finals in 2012, where they lost to the Miami Heat.
But that summer, GM Sam Presti traded James Harden to the Rockets. And, according to Kendrick Perkins, it was the NBA Finals rivalry that influenced that decision.
Kendrick Perkins recently spoke on the Road Trippin’ podcast. When discussing Kevin Durant’s comments about James Harden leaving the OKC Thunder.
Perkins validated those comments, adding that the team knew before he left, as Durant had seen Harden hear about LeBron James and Dwyane Wade retiring to become stars at the Olympics.
“They knew before the tweet came out when James left. KD was back. They were all in the Olympics. They had just won the gold medal. James was there, KD was there, Russ was there.
“We went into training camp, and KD was like, ‘We’re going to lose James… Bron, D-Wade, they all said he needs his own team…’
“Then all of a sudden, contract negotiations started and I yelled to James and he said, ‘I want Max! I want to be a franchise man!'”
It’s easy to say with hindsight that the Thunder made a mistake, but the circumstances at the time are also important.
James Harden excelled for the Thunder, coming off the bench as the sixth man for much of the 2011-2012 season and even winning the Sixth Man of the Year award.
At the time of his departure, there were rumors that Harden no longer wanted to accept a bench role, and the Thunder could not guarantee him a starting role.
In the end, the decision to leave the Thunder proved to be Harden’s, and he went on to become a superstar and MVP with the Houston Rockets.