Oklahoma City trading Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets marks the end of an era for the franchise. The once-promising trio of Westbrook, Kevin Durant and James Harden is no more — though Westbrook and Harden are back together again following the deal.
Harden was the first of the bunch to move on from Oklahoma City when he was shipped to Houston with Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward in exchange for Jeremy Lamb, Kevin Martin, two first-round picks and a second-rounder.
Following the announcement of the move, Harden spoke about moving on from Oklahoma City himself. In the course of his reflection, Harden confirmed Westbrook’s frustrations with the Thunder.
I’ve been knowing Russell since I was, like, 10 years old. We grew up together. Obviously, when I left Oklahoma City I was sad. But then Houston made a home for me. Rockets is my home. And now the opportunity came available where Russ wasn’t happy. Now we’re back. And It’s going to be a lot of fun this year, I guarantee you that. There’s gonna be a lot of excitement.
