Kevin Durant played major role in James Harden-Ben Simmons trade

The drama that circulated ahead of the NBA trade deadline last week was all over the place, from Steve Nash saying the Brooklyn Nets roster is set, to James Harden apparently working behind the scenes to be traded. Now we know Kevin Durant was just as involved as the players who exchanged teams.

It turns out, it wasn’t just Harden working behind the scenes on the eventual trade bringing Ben Simmons to Brooklyn, Durant also had his hands in the dough.

Yet, it took a while for the superstar to warm up to the idea of parting with Harden, a three-time NBA scoring champ.

According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, Durant really didn’t want the Nets to part with Harden, not yet.

“KD didn’t want to get rid of James,” one person familiar with the two superstars said. “But he knew it was over.”
Unnamed source on Kevin Durant’s hope to keep Harden

James Harden injury, attitude changed everything for Kevin Durant, Nets

As expected, Durantula was hesitant to break up the superstar trio they built, with him, Harden and Kyrie Irving. They all signed up because they wanted to win an NBA title, losing Harden obviously would impact that process, forcing the roster to get used to playing with new teammates.

Eventually, KD saw the light, realizing the previous construction crew wasn’t getting the job done.

“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.”
Unnamed source on Kevin Durant’s pre-deadline thoughts

By the day of the deadline, Durant reportedly had a change of heart, making a phone call to Nets general manager Sean Marks himself. Here’s how that is rumored to have gone down.

“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.”

Initially on the same page, trying to bring an NBA title to Brooklyn, Durant eventually realized Harden’s commitment to the team wasn’t the same as his own dedication. His evidence was supported by Harden’s poor conditioning early in the year, and his apparent desire to hit free agency, instead of stick with the big three the Nets had built. It only brought more tension.

“Kevin and James had a cold war going for the last several months that made everyone miserable,” one person with knowledge of the situation said.

Now it appears everyone is happy and suddenly healthy. Harden will likely return from his hamstring injury shortly after the All-Star break and Ben Simmons appears ready to hit the court as well. Even though Harden now wears a new uniform, both Durant and Harden still appear to have decent odds at winning an NBA title.