Rockets: Bradley Beal was almost dealt to OKC for James Harden in 2012

Bradley Beal recently discussed the time he was almost traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for current Houston Rockets superstar James Harden.

One of the greatest trades the Houston Rockets ever made was the one for James Harden in 2012. As Bradley Beal recently revealed, however, that situation was close to not even being possible if a draft-day deal had gone through.

As a guest on episode 40 of the podcast All the Smoke with Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, Beal reflected back on being drafted third overall by the Washington Wizards, which almost ended up with him being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“I was sitting in the draft room and my agent said that it was possible I might go to OKC,” said Beal. “I didn’t even work out for OKC, I only worked out for three teams. Washington, Cleveland and Charlotte.”

The Rumored Rockets/Wizards Trade

Although Beal was expecting to play for one of the three teams he worked out for, he gave more details on the trade that almost changed everything.

“OKC was going to trade up to two or three, get me, trade James to Washington for me. I would’ve been in OKC with KD and Russ,” said Beal.

That certainly would’ve made a drastic difference for both teams, since both have essentially become franchise players for their respective teams. While not many have ever heard of the rumored deal, Bradley declared that it was closer to happening than people might think.

“That was a last-minute decision,” said Beal. “It was almost done.”

It’s hard to imagine the Houston Rockets without James Harden, but it just goes to show how things can change on a dime in the NBA. Organizations are constantly moving to better their chances to succeed, and the Rockets were fortunate that this deal, in particular, didn’t fall through.

Houston has had their fair share of interesting “what-if” moments, and now this one can be added to that list.