I Hate Sam Presti (Death of a Dynasty II)

On October 27, 2012, around 6PM London time, I learned the Thunder traded James Harden to the Houston Rockets. The Thunder vaguely claimed they were unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension; James was seeking a maximum contract of $60 million over 4 years, which the Thunder countered by asking him to take a $4.5 million discount. The Thunder traded away their third head over a mid-level exception.

Essays, Sports, Curator's ChoiceLarry J. SandersMarch 9, 2018Oklahoma City Thunder, Sam Presti, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, NBA, Larry J. Sanders, BasketballComment

Death of a Dynasty

Oklahoma City had been blessed with THREE generational talents, plus a guy overqualified to be a team's fourth option, and have absolutely nothing to show for it. You need luck to win a title, sure, but that luck seemed to come in the players they'd been gifted. And they blew it.

Essays, SportsLarry J. SandersJuly 31, 2016Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Serge Ibaka, Larry J. Sanders, BasketballComment