if the Thunder couldn't unload Perkins when they were also handing Houston the best SG in the league in a horribly one-sided trade, it stands to reason that either A) they inexplicably don't want to get rid of him and think he's actually valuable or B) his value around the league is so bad that nobody wants him, even when you are getting the best SG in the league in return.
Nobody thought of him as the best SG in the league when the trade happened. Sure, he had a chance in the next few years, but nobody expected him to transition to a starring role so easily.
In hindsight we could've gotten a lot more for him, but he was way undervalued at the time by the whole league, not just by us.
linsivvi said:
And that was when?
I am talking about right now.
It's not like nobody expected Harden to become a top player 2 years ago.
You said "and they could've used him to get any big man they want."
This assumes that Harden would've vastly increased his trade value in OKC if we had kept him around, which is highly unlikely. He played great in the playoffs (except for the Finals), and won the 6MOTY award with insane efficiency, but his role wasn't going to change in OKC. A sixth-man on a guaranteed max contract doesn't scream "trade value" for me.
I fail to see how we could've increased his value from teams saying "nah" to Harden for Beal or Klay to "getting any big man we want."