There are two sides to this Harden coin here, and maybe I am a mouth breathing homer for saying that. I honestly don't know, I trust evil probably the most on here when it comes to opinions so if he says I'm a homer I probably am. I don't mean to be.
Again, let's set aside the decision to trade Harden and the return they received. Are the Thudner better today than they were back then? I'd say yes, but it is definitely arguable. They definitely have a more complete team, a better fitting team. I don't know if that trumps 3 GOATs and an Ibaka in a 7 game series though. That's something for someone else to argue about, but I think Presti has done a pretty damn good jerb after that massive failure. I really honestly think he was forced into it. Not only into trading Harden but how quickly.
[xtable]
{tbody}
{tr}
{td=center}45{/td}
{td=left}
Cole Aldrich{/td}
{td=center}C{/td}
{td=right}6-11{/td}
{td=right}245{/td}
{td=left}October 31, 1988{/td}
{td=right}1{/td}
{td=left}
University of Kansas{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}4{/td}
{td=left}
Nick Collison{/td}
{td=center}PF{/td}
{td=right}6-9{/td}
{td=right}255{/td}
{td=left}October 26, 1980{/td}
{td=right}7{/td}
{td=left}
University of Kansas{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}14{/td}
{td=left}
Daequan Cook{/td}
{td=center}SG{/td}
{td=right}6-5{/td}
{td=right}205{/td}
{td=left}April 28, 1987{/td}
{td=right}4{/td}
{td=left}
Ohio State University{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}35{/td}
{td=left}
Kevin Durant{/td}
{td=center}SF{/td}
{td=right}6-9{/td}
{td=right}240{/td}
{td=left}September 29, 1988{/td}
{td=right}4{/td}
{td=left}
University of Texas at Austin{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}37{/td}
{td=left}
Derek Fisher{/td}
{td=center}PG{/td}
{td=right}6-1{/td}
{td=right}200{/td}
{td=left}August 9, 1974{/td}
{td=right}15{/td}
{td=left}
University of Arkansas at Little Rock{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}13{/td}
{td=left}
James Harden{/td}
{td=center}SG{/td}
{td=right}6-5{/td}
{td=right}220{/td}
{td=left}August 26, 1989{/td}
{td=right}2{/td}
{td=left}
Arizona State University{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}11{/td}
{td=left}
Lazar Hayward{/td}
{td=center}SF{/td}
{td=right}6-6{/td}
{td=right}225{/td}
{td=left}November 26, 1986{/td}
{td=right}1{/td}
{td=left}
Marquette University{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}9{/td}
{td=left}
Serge Ibaka{/td}
{td=center}PF{/td}
{td=right}6-10{/td}
{td=right}220{/td}
{td=left}September 18, 1989{/td}
{td=right}2{/td}
{td=left} {/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}7{/td}
{td=left}
Royal Ivey{/td}
{td=center}SG{/td}
{td=right}6-3{/td}
{td=right}200{/td}
{td=left}December 20, 1981{/td}
{td=right}7{/td}
{td=left}
University of Texas at Austin{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}15{/td}
{td=left}
Reggie Jackson{/td}
{td=center}PG{/td}
{td=right}6-3{/td}
{td=right}208{/td}
{td=left}April 16, 1990{/td}
{td=right}R{/td}
{td=left}
Boston College{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}6{/td}
{td=left}
Eric Maynor{/td}
{td=center}PG{/td}
{td=right}6-3{/td}
{td=right}175{/td}
{td=left}June 11, 1987{/td}
{td=right}2{/td}
{td=left}
Virginia Commonwealth University{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}8{/td}
{td=left}
Nazr Mohammed{/td}
{td=center}C{/td}
{td=right}6-10{/td}
{td=right}221{/td}
{td=left}September 5, 1977{/td}
{td=right}13{/td}
{td=left}
University of Kentucky{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}5{/td}
{td=left}
Kendrick Perkins{/td}
{td=center}C{/td}
{td=right}6-10{/td}
{td=right}280{/td}
{td=left}November 10, 1984{/td}
{td=right}8{/td}
{td=left} {/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}33{/td}
{td=left}
Ryan Reid{/td}
{td=center}PF{/td}
{td=right}6-8{/td}
{td=right}232{/td}
{td=left}October 30, 1986{/td}
{td=right}R{/td}
{td=left}
Florida State University{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}2{/td}
{td=left}
Thabo Sefolosha{/td}
{td=center}SG{/td}
{td=right}6-5{/td}
{td=right}215{/td}
{td=left}May 2, 1984{/td}
{td=right}5{/td}
{td=left} {/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td=center}0{/td}
{td=left}
Russell Westbrook{/td}
{td=center}PG{/td}
{td=right}6-3{/td}
{td=right}187{/td}
{td=left}November 12, 1988{/td}
{td=right}3{/td}
{td=left}
University of California, Los Angeles{/td}
{/tr}
{/tbody}
[/xtable]
[xtable=cellpadding:3|cellspacing:1]
{tbody}
{tr}
{td=colspan:8}TEAM ROSTER{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}
NO.{/td}
{td}
NAME{/td}
{td}POS{/td}
{td}
AGE{/td}
{td}
HT{/td}
{td}
WT{/td}
{td}COLLEGE{/td}
{td}2015-2016 SALARY{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}12{/td}
{td}
Steven Adams{/td}
{td}C{/td}
{td}21{/td}
{td}7-0{/td}
{td}255{/td}
{td}Pittsburgh{/td}
{td}$2,279,040{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}14{/td}
{td}
D.J. Augustin{/td}
{td}PG{/td}
{td}27{/td}
{td}6-0{/td}
{td}183{/td}
{td}Texas{/td}
{td}$3,000,000{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}4{/td}
{td}
Nick Collison{/td}
{td}PF{/td}
{td}34{/td}
{td}6-10{/td}
{td}255{/td}
{td}Kansas{/td}
{td}$3,750,000{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}35{/td}
{td}
Kevin Durant{/td}
{td}SF{/td}
{td}26{/td}
{td}6-9{/td}
{td}240{/td}
{td}Texas{/td}
{td}$20,158,622{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}9{/td}
{td}
Serge Ibaka{/td}
{td}PF{/td}
{td}25{/td}
{td}6-10{/td}
{td}245{/td}
{td} {/td}
{td}$12,250,000{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}44{/td}
{td}
Dakari Johnson{/td}
{td}C{/td}
{td}19{/td}
{td}7-0{/td}
{td}255{/td}
{td}Kentucky{/td}
{td} {/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}8{/td}
{td}
Perry Jones{/td}
{td}SF{/td}
{td}23{/td}
{td}6-11{/td}
{td}235{/td}
{td}Baylor{/td}
{td}$2,038,206{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}34{/td}
{td}
Enes Kanter{/td}
{td}C{/td}
{td}23{/td}
{td}6-11{/td}
{td}245{/td}
{td}Kentucky{/td}
{td}$16,407,500{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}33{/td}
{td}
Mitch McGary{/td}
{td}PF{/td}
{td}23{/td}
{td}6-10{/td}
{td}255{/td}
{td}Michigan{/td}
{td}$1,463,040{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}2{/td}
{td}
Anthony Morrow{/td}
{td}SG{/td}
{td}29{/td}
{td}6-5{/td}
{td}210{/td}
{td}Georgia Tech{/td}
{td}$3,344,000{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}6{/td}
{td}
Steve Novak{/td}
{td}SF{/td}
{td}32{/td}
{td}6-10{/td}
{td}225{/td}
{td}Marquette{/td}
{td}$3,750,001{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}22{/td}
{td}
Cameron Payne{/td}
{td}PG{/td}
{td}20{/td}
{td}6-3{/td}
{td}185{/td}
{td}Murray State{/td}
{td}$2,021,520{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}21{/td}
{td}
Andre Roberson{/td}
{td}SG{/td}
{td}23{/td}
{td}6-7{/td}
{td}210{/td}
{td}Colorado{/td}
{td}$1,210,800{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}5{/td}
{td}
Kyle Singler{/td}
{td}SF{/td}
{td}27{/td}
{td}6-8{/td}
{td}228{/td}
{td}Duke{/td}
{td}$4,500,000{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}23{/td}
{td}
Dion Waiters{/td}
{td}SG{/td}
{td}23{/td}
{td}6-4{/td}
{td}225{/td}
{td}Syracuse{/td}
{td}$5,138,430{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}0{/td}
{td}
Russell Westbrook{/td}
{td}PG{/td}
{td}26{/td}
{td}6-3{/td}
{td}200{/td}
{td}UCLA{/td}
{td}
$16,744,218{/td}
{/tr}
{/tbody}
[/xtable]
I mean what squad do you pick?