Many talk about Harden leaving OKC as this horrible thing for them - not the case at all. Durant is more than capable of eating up those shots and scoring at a high rate (which Harden does as well). With Harden on the roster, what you'd end up getting is 3 guys taking turns going 1 on 1 ... that actually is relatively easy to defend (see the '77 NBA Finals for a history lesson on that).
The biggest miss for OKC is that they haven't surrounded the roster with much talent that can take the load off of Durant and Westbrook to help make them more efficient.
This is completely bullshit. With Harden that is just another guy who can take over. Also it would be harder to double up Durant when you have Harden, Ibaka and Westbrook on the floor.
Also getting three studs is the recipe to success. Bird-Mchale-Parrish , Magic-Kareem-Worthy, Duncan-Parker-Ginoboli, Lebron-Wade-Bosh. The only time you don't need three studs is if you have two great players one of which is by far and away the best player in the game in Shaq-Kobe or Michael-Pippen. Even Michael-Pippen had a Grant or Rodman.
The game of basketball isn't a 1 on 1 game - just doesn't work that way. The biggest flaw with OKC is that they tend to rely on isolations and 1 on 1 play. That just doesn't work at the highest levels. Having Harden on the roster wouldn't fix that and only accentuate the problem because while you can get away with driving/kicking to Durant, that doesn't really work with Westbrook (because it requires him to hit standstill jumpers - not a strength) and Harden thrives as a guy with the ball in his hand. The crime wasn't trading Harden ... the crime was what they got back for him. They could and should have done better.
I'm well aware of the concept of the best teams of all time having 3 great players as it's core. But you are missing a very key point in your "recipe for success"
Durant-Westbrook-Harden = 3 perimeter based players
Bird-McHale-Parish = entire front court - controlled the paint and glass
Magic-Kareem-Worthy = PG controlling pace, arguably the best center of all time (w/ Russell), and one of the most underrated forwards in the history of the game that could score on anybody but thrive without having the ball in his hands (all 3 were 6'9" and above)
Duncan-Parker-Ginobili = PG controlling pace, slashing wing that could create a shot at any time and arguably the best PF to ever play the game controlling the paint
LBJ-Wade-Bosh = Possibly the closest of comparisons to Durant-Westbrook-Harden and not even close really in that; LBJ is a dominating player in the paint on both ends; Wade is a slashing wing that is most comfortable going to the hoop and in today's game what he does is comparable to what good post players were able to do in getting to the line; Bosh is a career 19-9 guy playing PF.
Even your bringing up of MJ and Pippen is an issue because even though both were wings, both lived in the paint and on top of that were arguably the most dominant defensive players at their positions in the game - something none of the OKC guys are ever accused of.
OKC bet on Ibaka being the 3rd best player in their group and adding an interior guy to their dominance and he's not that guy.
The best way for OKC to win is to surround KD and Westbrook with a bunch of guys that can hit open jump shots and expose rotation defenses - think about having 1-2 Chandler Parsons types of players on your roster. Ultimately, that's what they should be looking for.
