To understand why the rapidly deteriorating situation between the Houston Rockets and James Harden is confusing and simple at the same time, you must go back to its origins.
A bit of revisionist history tells us that the fruitful, eight-year relationship between Harden and the Rockets was born out of circumstance.
Back in 2012, the Oklahoma City Thunder — fresh off an NBA Finals appearance and armed with a bevy of young and bustling talent — was faced with a decision that would later go down in franchise history as one of the greatest ‘what ifs.’ Russell Westbrook had signed a five-year, $80 million max extension, although he was actually eligible for a supermax contract. His fellow superstar Kevin Durant was already on the books, having famously taken himself out of potential free agency to sign a five-year extension of his own in 2010 – which meant two of OKC’s quartet of talented young guns had their futures committed…
