NBA: Seven Teams That Nearly Traded For James Harden In 2012

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May 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) controls the ball against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the second half in game two of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs. at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

Golden State Warriors

Although deemed an unrealistic trade for luxury tax reasons, the Warriors were actually (allegedly) Thunder GM Sam Presti’s first call when he started shopping Harden. The trade was supposed to yield the Thunder future all-star Klay Thompson and a draft pick.

Of all the seven teams here, Golden State was the least likely to obtain Harden. Nevertheless, they were involved in discussions.

Yes, this was actually discussed. Can you imagine what the Warriors would’ve looked like with James Harden instead of Klay Thompson?

Of course, we’ll never know if Harden replacing Thompson would be to the benefit or detriment of the Warriors success because the deal never happened. To be honest, however, I don’t think the Warriors are losing any sleep over it at the moment.

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