Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey had been calling Sam Presti to discuss a trade for James Harden for months.

But the Oklahoma City Thunder wanted to sign Harden to an extension to keep their core in place.

Over the past few days, Presti finally began to engage Morey on trade talks because extension talks had reached an impasse where they would move Harden if he turned down the final offer from the Thunder ownership.

Harden's agent, Rob Pelinka, flew to Oklahoma City on Friday for a sit-down meeting with Presti. Pelinka was seeking a four-year, $60 million max contract and was pushing to get as close to that number as possible.

Presti was already discussing a trade with Morey and proposed Harden for Kevin Martin, Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lamb and three first-round picks, including Houston's own in 2013.

They eventually agreed upon deal was for Martin, Lamb and two first-round picks, including a guaranteed lottery pick via Toronto.