Fun Fact: KD Was the One Who Pushed Management to Trade for Simmons; Marks Actually Wanted to Keep Harden

Usually, I don’t like to talk about the Big Three era, but I think many people don’t know/talk about this.

So back in February of 2022, Bleacher Report published an article that went over the entire Harden trade to Philly. I don’t ever see anyone bring it up, but it covers the whole saga better than anyone could ever ask for.

Here are some highlights:

* Harden basically gave up on the team. He came to training camp out of shape. He stopped traveling with the team and charted private jets to clubbing. As a result, he missed or came to many games late.
* Harden was also very inconsistent with his injury reports, apparently even sitting out games that he was cleared to play only moments before
* “When Harden first took to the bench with right hamstring tightness, Durant was among the Brooklyn figures who were skeptical of the injury’s severity.”
* Harden saw Joel Embiid playing like an MVP in Philly and wanted to go there instead of being stuck in Brooklyn.

And finally, the Simmons trade:

>Based on conversations with Brooklyn figures and those close to Durant, it’s clear the Harden blockbuster trade for Ben Simmons wouldn’t have occurred without Durant’s blessing. As more and more Nets personnel faced the reality approaching the trade deadline that Harden wanted out, Durant’s approval mattered more than anyone else’s.
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>”KD didn’t want to get rid of James,” one person familiar with the two superstars said. “But he knew it was over.”
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>”Kevin was like: ‘F–k it. James isn’t bringing s–t,” another figure with knowledge of Brooklyn added. “I don’t think that would have happened without Kevin making that decision.”
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>For weeks he had grown weary of Harden’s purported commitment to the franchise. When Harden first took to the bench with right hamstring tightness, Durant was among the Brooklyn figures who were skeptical of the injury’s severity.
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>By Thursday morning, Durant dialed Nets general manager Sean Marks, sources said.
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>While Durant had initially resisted swapping Harden for Simmons, Harden had finally forced his hand. Brooklyn’s spiral of losses and Harden’s freelancing behavior created an untenable situation.
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>”Kevin’s the one that pulled the trigger with this,” another source with knowledge of the situation said. “Kevin’s the one that said, ‘Do this deal.’ There was growing concern that this entire season would be lost and then they’d lose James for nothing.”

The interesting part to note is that, apparently, if Durant hadn’t approved of the trade, Harden would most likely have been kept on the team. Kevin was the final person to tell Sean Marks to begin negotiations with the Sixers.

>Brooklyn figures still wanted to trust Harden. They needed him healthy for their inevitable run at the championship that everyone had pledged to make together. By all accounts, Durant maintained that faith as long as he could. “Kevin always had a hope that this situation could get better,” one source close to Harden said.
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>That is until Harden finally voiced what he’d been telling confidants for some time. He wanted to be traded to Philadelphia. He arrived on the Nets bench well past tipoff for the Boston Celtics game that Tuesday. Harden left Brooklyn on Wednesday and retreated to his old stomping grounds in Houston once more. While Durant and management labored over the Nets’ impending conversations with the 76ers, Harden stepped into another night of clubbing.

After that, the ship gave out, and Harden stopped talking to the team while the two teams negotiated a trade. Apparently, the draft picks included in the trade were because Philly didn’t want to give Tyrese Maxey or Matisse Thybulle, so they gave up some draft capital instead.

Just some interesting stuff.

Article: [https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2953512-inside-kevin-durants-role-in-brooklyn-nets-james-harden-trade](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2953512-inside-kevin-durants-role-in-brooklyn-nets-james-harden-trade)

by Stock-Astronomer2709