Kendrick Perkins recently told the story of how James Harden was influenced to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012. During the 2012 Olympics, Harden joined Team USA where he got to play alongside his then Thunder teammate Kevin Durant and other notable names like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. While Harden’s talents were undeniable, he acted as a role player for OKC at the time. However, that all changed after his teammates gave him some advice. Perkins revealed that James, Wade, and some of Harden’s other teammates played a role in his trade to the Houston Rockets in the 2012-13 NBA season. The former NBA veteran said that Durant told him that Harden was leaving after winning the gold in the 2012 Olympics. True enough, the thick-bearded role player went on to become a superstar and changed the landscape of the league.