Report: KD told Harden he might not want to play for Kerr

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The Warriors in mid-November called the Houston Rockets to check in regarding a potential James Harden trade.

"I don't even believe an offer was made," The Athletic's Shams Charania said in early December. "I think it was just an inquiry like, 'We have a major potential offer here if you guys want to discuss.'

"Houston was open to hearing out different offers and proposals ... but it never even progressed to that point."

The Rockets on Wednesday agreed to trade Harden to the Brooklyn Nets. Shortly thereafter, the following conversation took place on "The Ryen Russillo Podcast" between Russillo, Bill Simmons and Jackie MacMullan:

Simmons: "The sleeping giant of this whole Harden sweepstakes was Golden State. And I don't think they were in it. But if they had decided to get into it ..."

Russillo: "I heard he, um ... he was not ... he and [Kevin] Durant are close, and Durant wanted him to leave (Houston). So I think there was some communication ..."

Simmons: "There was some Steve Kerr stuff."

Russillo: "Yeah, that you might not want to play for him. Which sounds insane that Durant could complain about anything with Golden State, but it sounds like he did."

MacMullan: "Well, but the only complaint that Kevin Durant had about Golden State was he wasn't Steph Curry, and he never was gonna be Steph Curry in that market. And no matter what he did and how many championships they won, Steph Curry was still the guy."

Simmons: "The KD-Kerr thing definitely fell apart the last year."

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The discussion regarding the Kerr-KD dynamic isn't new information. But the nugget on the apparent conversation between KD and Harden certainly is interesting.

RELATED: Why Warriors trading for Rockets' Tucker seems unlikely

It always seemed incredibly unlikely that the Warriors would trade for "The Beard." And as NBC Sports Bay Area's Monte Poole wrote last month:

Harden, after eight years as the undisputed centerpiece, likely will be what he became during his time in Houston. His dependence on isolation and over-dribbling would undermine the movement-and-flow principles coach Steve Kerr and his staff have emphasized for six years and counting.

Curry would quietly seethe. Draymond Green would loudly, and justifiably, rant. Kerr would go bald within a week. President and general manager Bob Myers, who would have to accept responsibility for such a move, might require twice-daily therapy sessions.

The Warriors are scheduled to host KD, Harden, Kyrie Irving and the Nets on Feb. 13.

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