If the blockbuster trade between the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia Sixers involving James Harden and Ben Simmons felt like it was inevitable, it's because in some ways, it was. Harden clearly was at a point where he no longer wanted to suit up for the Nets but what if that wasn't just a recent development. NBA reporters Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski revealed the longtime plot for an exit strategy to the Sixers put forth by Harden, via ESPN.

Little stays a secret within the NBA community, and Harden was quickly hedging on his future with the Nets, sources said. He kept telling owner Joe Tsai and Marks he wanted to stay long term, but simultaneously started canvassing player agents for advice on an eventual exit strategy to Philadelphia.

Marks and Tsai spoke to Harden often, but he didn't provide them the counter information he had been feeding to those outside the organization.

“Don't believe any of the rumors,” Harden would tell them. “If there's a problem, you'll hear from me directly.”

Harden had a reputation as passive-aggressive rather than confrontational, and that was about to create real problems for Brooklyn.

That is truly crazy stuff. Basically, James Harden was already pondering a future without the Nets from the moment that training camp started. Harden told Nets owner Joe Tsai and general manager Sean Marks that he was committed to Brooklyn long-term but was speaking to player agents about a possible exit strategy to the Sixers behind their backs.

The passive-aggressive Harden continued to assure the Nets, who found out about his backdoor dealings with agents, that he was staying in Brooklyn. Eventually, the two parties arrived at this point with a trade to the Sixers, though it's truly fascinating to see just how calculated all of this was.