The Thunder could have been a championship-winning team if Harden stayed

The Thunder had three superstars in 2012, and they squandered it. The Oklahoma City Thunder were ahead of schedule when they made it to the 2012 NBA Finals to play against the Miami Heat. Most of the core was still young, with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Serge Ibaka all 23 years old or younger.

The future was bright for the Thunder, but unfortunately, the front office decided they would only come into the following season with three of the four core players. The debate was between Harden and Ibaka, with OKC’s front office ultimately choosing Ibaka. Former All-Star Gilbert Arenas thinks they made a mistake by giving up on the core that easily.

“Everyone knew he (Harden) was a starter. So you're trying to sign Serge and then sign him, not realizing he's the most important piece. And what ends up happening is you got out-bid, and you couldn't afford him. All it cost you was four million a year to keep him,” Agent Zero said on Gil’s Arena about OKC losing Harden. “If James stays, you can say there's probably no Golden State dynasty. This is probably the two, three championship team right here.”

Harden immediately took off as a superstar in Houston

The Thunder tried to sign Harden to a four-year contract extension worth around $52 to $55 million, but James argued he was not given enough time to consider the offer before he got traded. The Beard was then shipped to the Houston Rockets, a perfect destination for a Sixth Man of the Year looking for a breakout role as a starter.

Harden was immediately impressive because, in his first game as a Rocket, he posted a stat line of 37 points, 12 assists, six rebounds, and four steals. The former 6MOY set out to be more than a role player to KD and Russ, and he was phenomenal in his time with Houston. He spent nine seasons with the team, winning almost every award possible, including MVP in 2018.

OKC should have made him stay

OKC’s front office was in a dilemma during the 2012 offseason because James and Serge were eligible for extensions. They would have been restricted free agents the following offseason if they did not sign. Unfortunately, the Thunder had to deal with the luxury tax, and if they signed both players to max contracts, they would have been well within the luxury tax line.

There were penalties for offenders of that line to pay a fine based on the amount they were over the line. OKC also had to deal with a repeat offender tax, created to penalize teams that constantly operated above the threshold.

Since the Thunder were not a big-market team, they did not want to keep spending, but in hindsight, they should have rolled the dice on the offers. KD, Russ, and Harden all became MVP-level players, which meant OKC already had the superstar talent that could have made them champions and prevented the Golden State Warriors dynasty.

Related: Are the OKC Thunder ready to contend for a championship?