NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins made some bold claims about why the Oklahoma City Thunder’s young core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden ended faster than expected. The Thunder added a veteran Perkins as their starting center, but they never got over the hump and took a hit when losing Harden.
Perkins validated a claim Durant made about being upset that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and other rivals celebrated Harden getting traded. The story featured Harden wanting a bigger contract extension since he sacrificed more as a sixth man and requesting a trade to the Houston Rockets once it didn’t come.
Claims from Perkins featured LeBron and others getting in Harden’s head to convince him to leave Oklahoma City:
“KD came back. They were all at the Olympics, they had just won gold. We went into training camp, and KD was like, ‘Bro, we’re gonna lose James.’ I was like, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘Bron, D-Wade, all of them were telling him he needs his own team.’ Then, all of a sudden, the contract negotiations started.”
Perkins later added that he realized Harden was out when they had private conversations. Harden made it clear that he wanted a max contract and the opportunity to be a franchise player. Oklahoma City prioritized others over Harden and traded him to end that core before they could get a ring.
Harden Trade Changed Everything For OKC
Oklahoma City had one of the best young cores in NBA history and it ended too soon. Durant, Westbrook, and Harden all won MVP Awards, and all three will get inducted in the Hall of Fame likely on their first respective ballots. The Netflix “Starting Five” series featured Durant expressing his anger in depth for the first time.
Durant didn’t mention the same story as Perkins, but he did confirm he was livid about James, Wade, and others congratulating Harden. The belief of KD is that the other top title contenders wanted the Thunder to break up to make their path easier, given the age of the OKC stars.
Harden instantly became a superstar and made the Rockets a viable threat in the Western Conference for many years. Durant and Westbrook never made the finals together again and only had a couple of deep runs before their issues caused Durant to leave. Thunder fans were haunted until this new core led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won them a ring.
LeBron Outsmarted Thunder With Mind Games
LeBron is considered one of the smartest minds in basketball on and off the court. Everyone knows James is a genius at making the right plays, but he’s clearly a shrewd operator off the court to maneuver things in his favor via relationships around the entire league.
Oklahoma City felt like the next dynasty and the perfect young team to challenge James and his Miami Heat roster. LeBron’s move to the Cleveland Cavaliers saw him never having to worry about facing the Thunder again.
Unfortunately for him, the Golden State Warriors became an even bigger super team that he couldn’t break up or find his way around. Durant may have joined the Warriors with this in mind to stack the odds in his favor against James.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Kendrick Perkins Claims LeBron Talked James Harden Into Trade appeared first on Heavy Sports.