The wounds from the James Harden Trade may never heal, but Dennis Schröder has certainly helped the effort. Ever since Harden’s incredible 2011-2012 season, when he won the Sixth Man of the Year Award (6MOY) in a landslide, Oklahoma City has been looking for another Sixth Man Extraordinaire. The original plan was to build a Big Three of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Harden, but an impasse over contract negotiations ended that abruptly, with James being sent to Houston, where he has blossomed into a superstar and MVP.
Since the unfortunate day of that trade, OKC has cycled through numerous players in an attempt to replicate Harden’s success.