Thunder Nearly Traded Harden To Wizards

James Harden is gone, but according to the Washington Post, OKC wanted to ship him to the nation's capital. 

Wednesday, December 12th 2012, 10:11 am

By: News 9

Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports that the Thunder offered James Harden to the Washington Wizards for a pair of players, but Washington turned the trade down.

According to Lee, OKC offered to send James Harden to Washington for rookie guard Bradley Beal and forward Chris Singleton, but Wizards' management's reluctance to sign Harden to a max contract put an end to any potential agreement.

Beal, the third overall pick in the 2012 draft from the University of Florida, is averaging 11.9 points on just 36 percent shooting so far this season.

Singleton, a second-year player out of Florida State, has only appeared in four games this season, averaging 5.4 points per game, and might be most known for spending $10,000 on Mega Million lottery tickets earlier this year, calling it an "investment."

Oklahoma City ended up dealing Harden, Cole Aldrich, Lazar Hayward and Daequan Cook to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, two future first-round draft picks and one future second round pick.