Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder traveled to Houston yesterday where they fell 118-110 to a Houston Rockets team desperate to steal the 8th and final playoff spot away from the Jazz or Mavericks, who are currently tied at 39-38. Naturally, aside from James Harden‘s 41-point performance against the team that traded him in 2012 and the Thunder’s prolific ability to blow three-quarter leads, all the talk was about Kevin Durant’s forthcoming free agency, which could potentially land him back in Houston, and re-united with James Harden.
According to this ESPN report, James Harden will play a huge role in recruiting Durant to come play in Texas next year, and he’ll have some significant factors at his side that will likely be enticing for Durant. KD will undoubtedly be looking for a strong supporting cast that will help him get back to the NBA Finals should he leave Oklahoma City, and the only trip to the Finals of his career came in 2012, with James Harden at his side back when Harden was the Thunder 6th man. In addition, Houston is a significantly bigger market than Oklahoma City, which will blow Durant’s already mammoth-sized endorsement deals and promotional relationships with Nike, Sonic and more into the stratosphere.
Harden has spoken openly with reporters in recent history about being a recruiting agent for Houston, and though he neglected to name Durant as his primary target, there’s little doubt about who’s phone he’ll be hitting when July 1 hits.
