NBA Rumors: Thunder Trading James Harden for No. 2 Pick Makes No Sense

The Oklahoma City Thunder are about to play in Game 2 of the 2012 NBA Finals. They got here on the backs of their “Big Three”—Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

Suddenly, there is talk that they may be breaking up in the offseason.

Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports is reporting that the Thunder brass is considering moving the Sixth Man of the Year winner to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for the No. 2 overall pick in the draft.

According to Goodman’s source:

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Harden could be in play due to the Thunder's salary situation following next season. GM Sam Presti already has Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook on the books for more than $29 million next season — and both Harden and Serge Ibaka will command huge contracts after the 2012-13 campaign.

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While it may be true that KD and Westbrook recently signed massive extensions and Harden and Ibaka are up next, there is no reason to think Presti will not find a way to keep his core group together.

This exciting young team has built itself from the ground up over the past few seasons, and it is all finally paying off. It is blasphemous to believe that Presti would betray the fans by destroying the nucleus that got them this far.

He is a shrewd GM that has almost certainly been planning for the financial obstacles that the Thunder franchise will soon be facing, including inking Harden and Ibaka to new contracts.

It’s worth noting that OKC has patiently developed Harden since drafting him No. 3 overall back in 2009. All of this time and effort has resulted in a breakout campaign for the Arizona State product during the 2011-12 regular season and into the playoffs. 

Bottom line, the Thunder aren’t going to scrap a player they have molded into a star just to begin that process all over again. 

While it’s an interesting rumor, all of this James Harden-to-Charlotte talk will eventually turn out to be smoke and mirrors.