James Harden made some strong statement last night following Houston’s big loss to the Lakers, saying that this Rockets team is just “not good enough”. Is this the end of the Rockets-Harden era?
“I love this city. I literally have done everything that I can. This situation is crazy. It’s something that I don’t think can be fixed.”
Harden, who scored just 16 points on 5-of-16 shooting from the field, has been looking to leave Houston for a while, but that was the first time he made such an honest public statement.
If you were the Rockets’ owner, what would you do? According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Harden is aware that the Rockets are discussing a trade, but their asking price remains steep:
John Wall’s Reaction
The All’Star guard, who was traded for Westbrook in the offseason, had some bold statements of his own: “It’s only been nine games. Come on, man, you want to jump off the cliff after nine games?”
Wall did not hold back when asked about his relationship with Harden:
Harden or Houston?
The Rockets had hoped that trading Westbrook for Wall and a future 1st round draft pick would convince Harden to commit, but that is not the case so far. In fact, it was not the first time the Rockets decided to stick with Harden as their franchise player.
Harden has had great coaches and teammates along his career, but it was never enough for a championship. Houston even paired him with Russ again, got him CP3, Dwight, Carmelo and now Wall. In addition, he was never on the other side of the trades, until now and upon his own request: He wants out of Houston!
What should Houston do? and which organization is willing to go all in for Harden after this whole dramatic situation? We know that a Harden trade won’t come in cheap, as Houston will look to rebuild with a young core and top picks. However, who is willing to give up that much for a player with commitment issues along the way.
Take Kyrie for example, the Nets trusted him and gave him what he wanted, but where is he now? Out for “personal reasons” as he was caught partying and breaking the NBA health protocols. Could this be a similar situation?
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