Houston Rockets’ James Harden To Recruit Kevin Durant

By Kenneth Teape | Jun 25, 2016

Jan 15, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) and Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) wait for a rebound at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports /

Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden will become a recruiter this offseason trying to convince his friend and former teammate Kevin Durant to join him in Houston.

The Houston Rockets fell way short of expectations during the 2015-16 season. They squeaked into the postseason despite appearing in the Western Conference Finals just a year ago. Kevin McHale was fired 11 games into the season, and things just never got on track for the dysfunctional Rockets.

But, through all of the despair and toxicity, James Harden still managed to have a strong statistical season. Harden has gotten a poor reputation for his flopping antics and lack of effort defensively, but he still stuffs the stat sheet. This past season he averaged 29 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

Harden was able to put up those stats playing 38.1 minutes a game and never sitting out. There aren’t many players that can say they played in all 82 games during the regular season as Harden did, as he is the lineup night in and night out.

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You can count on Harden to be there every night, and now he is looking to add a new running mate next to him. The dynamic between him and Dwight Howard never truly clicked, and is a big reason the team struggled with chemistry issues and took a step back this season.

With the need for a new partner in crime, Harden is setting his sights on former teammate, Kevin Durant. Harden and Durant played together with the Oklahoma City Thunder for three seasons, and became good friends. Harden will now try and convince his friend to lead behind the Thunder and Russell Westbrook and join him in Houston.

In an interview with Jerome Solomon of Chron.com, Harden does not hide his intentions of his summer plans regarding his friend and former teammate in Durant.

"“As hard as I can. I’m gonna try. He’s one of my really good friends. He has a big decision. (He’ll do) whatever he feels is best for his career. Obviously, I would love for him to play here in Houston, but ultimately he’ll make the best decision for his career.”"

The Rockets will have a lot of ground to cover to catch up to the upper echelon teams of the Western Conference such as the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Thunder, but Durant would certainly help them reach that level.

Durant and Harden would form arguably the best one-two punch in the NBA, as opposing teams would have a difficult time slowing them down. Both are excellent one-on-one players that can score at will and get buckets with ease.

Durant averaged 28.2 points per game last year, third in the NBA behind only Harden and Stephen Curry, to go with 8.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.18 blocks and 0.9 steals per game. Those are perennial MVP type numbers, and something the Rockets, like any team in the NBA, would love to add to their squad.

But, unlike many teams, the Rockets have some things they can offer Durant that other teams can’t. In addition to having a friend and great player in place in Harden, the Rockets also play in Texas, where Durant has some ties; Durant played his college basketball at the University of Texas in Austin, which is about 2.5 hours away from Houston.

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Those are all factors that could come into play once Durant becomes a free agent next week on July 1. Once that happens, you can be sure that Harden will be working the phones trying to convince Durant to join him in Houston.

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