Rockets: 3 reasons Perkins is wrong about James Harden’s OKC exit

ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins went viral on Friday, as he’s clearly forgotten about the circumstances that led to James Harden being sent to the Houston Rockets.

It’s been eight years since the trade that sent James Harden to the Houston Rockets, and it’s safe to say the trade altered both franchises. The Thunder clearly didn’t realize what they had in Harden, and the Rockets were in dire need of a superstar, so they were willing to risk it all for the Sixth Man of the Year.

But the circumstances leading up to the move were entirely one-sided, in favor of OKC, as they made it known that they didn’t value Harden and felt they could easily replace him. This became apparent in how they handled the contract talks, which were also one-sided, as OKC GM Sam Presti had no desire to make it work between Harden and his representation.

Although that’s what really happened, ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins has a far different version of events, as it seems he may be suffering from memory loss.

KP on the Thunder that could've been: "Everyone made the sacrifice except for James." – via @ESPNNBA pic.twitter.com/zIgKtPR57j

— Space City Scoop (@SpaceCity_Scoop) April 3, 2020

This take is incredibly off-base and erroneous, and I’m not sure there’s enough room here to explain all of the reasons. But we’ll delve into the main three reasons why Perkins is incorrect about the manner in which Harden was dealt to the Houston Rockets.

Let’s get started.

Next: No. 3