Harden and Rockets went from 8 seed .500 team to 3 seed to .700 team. Westbrook and Thunder went from 3 seed to 6 seed. Admittedly, Durant is a much better player than Howard but just another consideration. I don't think the Rockets would have had as bad of a record last year if they retained Kevin McHale though. But it sure seems like Harden and Dantoni are a match made in Heaven. So maybe it was all for the greater good.