Rockets Rumors

Harden On Rockets Exit: “I Wasn’t Disrespectful To Anyone”

January 15th, 2021 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Rockets center DeMarcus Cousins described James Harden‘s comments and behavior during his final days in Houston as “disrespectful.” However, speaking today to reporters for the first time since being traded to the Nets, Harden disagreed with that assessment.

“I wasn’t disrespectful to anyone,” Harden said on Friday, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “Those guys, they just got there, to Houston. I’ve been there a very long time. I’ve been through all the ups and downs with that organization. And I wasn’t disrespectful to anyone.

“I just made a comment that the team as a whole wasn’t good enough to compete for a title. The stage of my career, where I am now, that’s what I would love. So, I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful to anybody, especially the organization. I’m excited to be here in Brooklyn, excited for a new start.”

Harden did express some regrets about the way his tenure in Houston ended, noting that there were “some things I feel like were out of my character,” but didn’t identify any specific comments or actions that he regretted, Feigen notes.

Harden’s desire to be traded by the Rockets was reported all the way back in November and dominated headlines for nearly two months, but NBA rules prevented him from publicly discussing his trade request until now — doing so would have resulted in a fine. Asked about it today, the former MVP explained that he became motivated to move on following the Rockets’ playoff loss to the Lakers over the summer.

“After the bubble, after that loss, I wanted to re-evaluate my career, the team, where the organization was going,” Harden said, according to Feigen. “You look from top to bottom, the general manager (Daryl Morey) leaving, (head coach) Mike D’Antoni leaving, to reevaluating our personnel and seeing if we had enough to compete with the best teams in this league, as time went on, as free agency and things like that started to go on, I felt like we didn’t have a chance.”

Having decided that he wanted out of Houston, Harden confirmed today that the Nets were atop his wish list, though he said that list featured a handful of other teams as well. The 31-year-old praised the Rockets for working with him to find an appropriate deal and making sure he ended up in a favorable landing spot.

“They worked with me, as bad as it might’ve looked from the outside, and they made sure I ended up here, so much credit to them and (I’m) very, very appreciative,” Harden said, per Adam Zagoria of Forbes.

Harden issued a farewell to Rockets fans with a post on Instagram earlier today, writing that the organization and the city of Houston “has given me everything I could ask for and more.”

Wolves Expected To Re-Engage With Rockets On P.J. Tucker

January 15th, 2021 at 9:52am CST by Luke Adams

Now that the Rockets have moved James Harden, there’s an expectation that the team will be more open to trading P.J. Tucker as well. A report earlier this week indicated that multiple teams are asking about Tucker, and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic says the Timberwolves are among the clubs expected to be in the hunt for the veteran forward.

The Wolves, who reportedly inquired on Tucker during the offseason, have been monitoring his situation in Houston since before the draft and have maintained contact with the Rockets since then, according to Krawczynski.

Minnesota’s president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas worked in Houston’s front office before joining the Wolves in 2019, though it remains to be seen whether his friendly relationship with the Rockets’ top decision-makers will help grease the wheels for a potential deal. As Krawczynski points out, Tucker’s versatility and his $8MM expiring contract will make him a logical trade target for several contenders.

Still, the Wolves look like an especially good fit for Tucker, given their lack of reliable options at the power forward spot. Rosas himself has acknowledged that the team could use an upgrade at the four, as Krawczynski relayed earlier in the week.

“The power forward position is probably one of the areas where we have the most questions right now,” Rosas said. “Part of it is there’s some young guys there and we’re trying to get to a good fit. But I wouldn’t be doing my job if we’re not trying to improve and get better and address our needs.”

Having opted for a Harden package loaded with draft picks and swaps, the Rockets would likely prioritize draft assets again in talks for Tucker and would presumably attempt to land a first-round pick. That may reduce the Wolves’ chances, according to Krawczynski, who points out that Minnesota has already traded away a top-three protected 2021 first-rounder and isn’t in a great position to be selling off more picks for a 35-year-old on an expiring deal.

Even if the Rockets do intend to move Tucker, there’s no rush to do so right away, as the trade deadline isn’t until March 25. While we wait to see which other teams might be in the mix for the former Texas Longhorn, it’s worth noting that the Nuggets weren’t among the teams to inquire as of Wednesday night, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link).

Rockets Notes: Harden, Wall, Oladipo, Gordon

January 14th, 2021 at 1:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The tensions that boiled over in Houston this week between James Harden and his teammates have been building for weeks, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. League sources tell O’Connor that there was animosity between Harden and John Wall from the time Wall was traded to the Rockets in early December. Wall still views himself as a franchise player and he believed Harden was sabotaging the team with his efforts to get traded.

Hard feelings continued to grow as Harden reported late for training camp and the team struggled to a 3-6 start. After a second consecutive blowout loss to the Lakers Tuesday night, Harden declared the Rockets weren’t “good enough” to compete with the league’s top teams, and Wall and DeMarcus Cousins fired back angry responses.

Those two players are the leaders in Houston now, but they both have checkered pasts regarding team chemistry and are coming off major injuries, O’Connor notes. Wall’s future with the Rockets seems secure as he’s under contract for more than $91MM over the next two seasons. However, Cousins – who is playing only 13.4 minutes per night and shooting just 35.6% from the field – is on a veteran’s minimum deal that doesn’t become fully guaranteed until February 27.

There’s more from Houston:

Victor Oladipo may not have a long-term future with the team, O’Connor writes in the same story. Sources tell O’Connor that Oladipo, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, would prefer to end up with the Heat. The Rockets can trade their new guard at any time, but he cannot be aggregated with other salaries until March 5, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. This year’s trade deadline is March 25.
Eric Gordon doesn’t believe Harden intended to insult his teammates with his comments after Tuesday’s game, according to Mark Berman of KRIV in Houston (video link). “For me knowing him personally I don’t think he really meant it as far as to really disrespect the team,” Gordon said. “That’s just from me. He wanted a different situation. He’s kind of shown that and he said it. I don’t think he really meant to disrespect the players.”
With Harden’s salary off the books, the Rockets could choose to operate below the cap next season, suggests John Hollinger of The Athletic. He notes that the team can easily get to $20MM under next year’s cap number, and possibly more if Gordon is traded too.

Rockets Waiving Bruno Caboclo

January 14th, 2021 at 8:26am CST by Arthur Hill

Needing an open roster spot to complete the James Harden trade, the Rockets elected to waive Bruno Caboclo, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Houston had just 14 players on standard contracts before completing the deal, but is taking back Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum and Rodions Kurucs while only sending out Harden.

Caboclo, 25, saw limited action for the Rockets, appearing in six games and averaging 6.0 minutes per night. He also played eight games for Houston at the end of last season after being acquired from the Grizzlies at the trade deadline.

The Rockets will take a $361K cap hit on Caboclo – whose 2020/21 minimum salary wasn’t fully guaranteed – and are now $5.7MM under the luxury tax, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.

Rockets Trade James Harden To Nets

January 14th, 2021 at 8:12am CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 16: The Pacers/Rockets part of the trade is now official and has been folded back into the initial deal, formally making it a four-team trade once again. Details can be found right here.

JANUARY 14: The trade is now official, the Nets announced in a press release.

“Adding an All-NBA player such as James to our roster better positions our team to compete against the league’s best,” Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks said. “James is one of the most prolific scorers and playmakers in our game, and we are thrilled to bring his special talents to Brooklyn.

“While we are excited to welcome James and his family to the Nets, we also want to thank the players who are departing. Caris, Jarrett, Rodions and Taurean were instrumental to the team’s success and have made an enormous impact on our organization. It has been a pleasure watching them grow both as players and as people and they will always be part of our Nets family. We wish each of them and their families all the best in the future.”

In their press release announcing the deal, the Cavs noted that they also acquired the draft rights to 2017 second-round pick Aleksandar Vezenkov from the Nets. Vezenkov has remained overseas since being drafted.

Interestingly, the Nets, Cavs, and Rockets opted to complete this trade as a three-team deal, meaning the trade sending LeVert and a second-round pick to Indiana for Oladipo will be a separate move.

Separating the two trades will allow the Rockets to generate a larger trade exception in this initial deal — that exception will be worth $15,451,216.

JANUARY 13: The Nets will acquire star guard James Harden in a trade with the Rockets, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne (Twitter link). Shams Charania of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter) that Harden will head to Brooklyn.

According to Wojnarowski and Shelburne (via Twitter) and Charania (Twitter link), it will be a multi-team trade that also involves the Cavaliers and Pacers, with the Rockets receiving Indiana guard Victor Oladipo in the deal.

The Rockets will acquire Oladipo from the Pacers; Rodions Kurucs, three first-round picks, and four pick swaps from the Nets; and Dante Exum and the Bucks’ unprotected 2022 first-round selection from the Cavs, per ESPN and The Athletic.

Cleveland will receive Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince from Brooklyn, while the Pacers acquire Caris LeVert.

Charania reports (via Twitter) that the Pacers will also receive a second-round pick in the trade. That second-rounder is a 2023 selection from the Rockets, tweets Wojnarowski.

In addition to Harden, the Nets will receive a 2024 second-round pick from Cleveland, says Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The Cavaliers have traded away the more favorable of their own second-rounder and the Jazz’s second-rounder, so Brooklyn will presumably get the less favorable of those two picks.

This is a massive trade with a ton of moving parts to break down. Let’s start with the Nets’ side of the deal.

Nets’ perspective:

The draft picks the Nets are sending to Houston are their unprotected first-rounders in 2022, 2024, and 2026, according to Wojnarowski, who tweets that the Rockets will have the ability to swap first-round picks with the Nets in 2021, 2023, 2025, and 2027 (without protections, tweets Zach Lowe of ESPN).

That means the Nets won’t control any of their own first-round picks through 2027, making this a massive bet on the star trio of Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving. Irving is currently away from the team on personal leave and is something of a question mark for the time being, but with Durant and Harden leading the offense, the Nets should have more than enough offensive firepower to get by until he returns.

The move, which makes Brooklyn an immediate championship contender, reunites Harden with his former Thunder teammate and fellow former MVP Durant. Harden will also team up once again with ex-Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, who is now a Nets assistant.

As a result of trading four players for one, the Nets will have three open roster spots to fill, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Minimum-salary signings seem likely, since Brooklyn’s projected luxury tax bill will further increase as a result of taking on Harden’s $41MM+ salary.

However, the team also still has its $5.72MM taxpayer mid-level exception available and will likely be granted a disabled player exception worth about the same amount following Spencer Dinwiddie‘s ACL tear. As such, Brooklyn has the flexibility to sign players to deals worth more than the minimum.

Harden had a 15% trade kicker in his contract, but it will be voided since he’s already making the maximum salary.

While this blockbuster trade is probably a safe bet to work out better than the last time the Nets mortgaged their future by surrendering a series of first-round selections and pick swaps (for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce), it’s worth noting that Harden is 31 years old and Durant is 32 — the Nets’ picks for the next couple years figure to fall near the end of the first round, but there’s no guarantee that will still be the case by 2025, 2026, or 2027.

Rockets’ perspective:

The Rockets are clearly betting that some of those draft assets will become valuable, opting for a package heavy on picks rather than pushing to complete a trade with the Sixers for Ben Simmons, as was rumored earlier today. Although Simmons was said to be on the table in talks with Philadelphia, it’s not clear what the rest of that deal might have looked like.

By choosing to trade with the Nets and Pacers, the Rockets landed a two-time All-Star (Oladipo) in addition to four draft picks and four draft swaps. Oladipo will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, so there’s no guarantee he’ll be a long-term Rocket. Houston will hold his Bird rights and could re-sign him in the offseason, but acquiring him this early in the season also gives the club the option of extracting further value by flipping him at the March 25 trade deadline.

Today’s trade agreement marks the end of a saga that began in November, when word first broke that Harden had turned down a two-year, $103MM extension offer and had requested a trade out of Houston. The Rockets didn’t move him in the offseason, prompting the superstar guard to express his displeasure by reporting late to training camp.

On Tuesday night, he accelerated his departure by telling reporters after a blowout loss that the Rockets were “just not good enough” and that he didn’t believe the situation could be fixed. Houston decided to keep Harden away from the team until a trade agreement could be reached, and ultimately took less than 24 hours to finalize a deal.

Barring any additional imminent changes, the Rockets will have a fascinating roster in the short term, headlined by a trio of former stars who are coming back from major injuries. Oladipo, who missed a year from 2019-20 with a quad issue, joins John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, who have looked good this season after long-term injury absences of their own.

With Christian Wood and P.J. Tucker in the frontcourt, Houston should be a competitive team this season, albeit probably not a legit contender. Today’s trade is more about the future. Having previously traded away a handful of their own future first-round picks and given up a pair of pick swaps in 2021 and 2025, the Rockets have replenished their stash of draft picks in recent months, first by trading Robert Covington and Russell Westbrook and now by moving Harden.

Houston, which had one open roster spot entering the day, will have to waive a player to complete the trade. The club will also generate an eight-figure trade exception in the deal.

All three of the players acquired in today’s trade by the Rockets – Oladipo, Kurucs, and Exum – can become free agents at season’s end (Kurucs has a team option for 2021/22).

It also shouldn’t be overlooked that moving Harden for three less expensive players will take the Rockets $3.65MM below the luxury tax line and $9.95MM below their hard cap, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Entering the day, Houston was over the tax and only about $1MM from the hard cap — the club should now have added financial and cap flexibility for the rest of the season.

Pacers’ perspective:

Oladipo has been the subject of trade rumors for the last year, since he has at times seemed lukewarm about the idea of remaining in Indiana after his current contract expires in 2021. While the Pacers had insisted they were comfortable hanging onto him and addressing his contract situation when free agency arrived, moving him for LeVert makes sense for the franchise.

While Oladipo is a stronger defender, LeVert is a talented scorer who is two years younger than Oladipo and is on a more favorable contract. LeVert is earning $16.2MM this season and is under contract for two additional years beyond 2020/21, at an affordable rate of $18.1MM per year.

As Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report observes (via Twitter), re-signing Oladipo at the price he was seeking would’ve been a challenge for the Pacers, who are already on the hook for lucrative multiyear contracts for Malcolm Brogdon, Domantas Sabonis, and Myles Turner. Locking in LeVert through 2022/23 should be much more financially manageable for Indiana.

In the short term, the Pacers will also slip under the luxury tax line as a result of swapping Oladipo ($21MM) for LeVert, tweets Marks.

Cavaliers’ perspective:

The Cavs are acquiring Prince and will send out Exum and a future second-round pick, but this trade is mostly about sending out the Bucks’ 2022 first-rounder in exchange for Allen, a promising young center who will be a restricted free agent during the coming offseason.

Cleveland already has a number of veteran options at the four and five, including Andre Drummond, Kevin Love, Larry Nance Jr., and JaVale McGee, so acquiring Allen will create more of a logjam in the short term.

In the long term though, you could make the case that none of the Cavs’ incumbent big men have more upside than Allen, who is averaging a double-double (11.2 PPG, 10.4 RPG) in a part-time role (26.7 MPG) so far this season.

If Allen starts at least five games for the Cavs during the rest of the 2020/21 season, he’ll meet the starter criteria and his qualifying offer in restricted free agency will be worth $7.7MM. He’d have the option of accepting that one-year offer, negotiating a longer-term deal with Cleveland, or signing an offer sheet with another team, which the Cavs could match.

In a pair of corresponding roster moves, the Cavs will waive Thon Maker and will end Yogi Ferrell‘s 10-day contract early, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nets Notes: Irving, Durant, Fertitta, Shumpert

January 13th, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Now that a new Big Three is together in Brooklyn, Kyrie Irving will likely be asked to sacrifice to make it work, two NBA scouts told Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Today’s trade that reunites James Harden with Kevin Durant gives the Nets three elite offensive players, but they may not fit together smoothly.

“On paper obviously that team wins the East and probably the whole thing,” said Bryan Oringher, a former scout with the Raptors, Hawks and Wizards. “But it all depends if they’re willing to do a Warriors-type thing and all sacrifice. (Harden’s) obviously incredible, but none of them seem super happy without the ball.”

Irving missed a fifth straight game tonight for personal reasons, and his absence could be extended if the NBA decides he has to quarantine when he returns to the team, Lewis adds. Coach Steve Nash refused to address specifics about Irving during a session with the media.

“I haven’t had an opportunity to know any new details about Kyrie’s situation,” Nash said. “So I’ll just rely on the front office to learn more as we go. They’re the ones that are going to do the messaging on that front.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Durant couldn’t talk directly about the Harden deal after tonight’s game because it’s still not official, but he did speak briefly about his previous experience with Harden in Oklahoma City, saying, “It was fun,” Lewis tweets. “I’ve heard that that’s not even finalized yet, so I’ll talk about it another time,” Durant added (Twitter link).
Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta wasn’t impressed by the players the Nets were offering, such as Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie, who is sidelined with a torn ACL, Lewis adds in a separate story. That explains why Allen wound up in Cleveland and LeVert was sent to Indiana, while Houston acquired Victor Oladipo and a parcel of draft picks.
Today’s trade leaves the Nets with three open roster spots, and free agent Iman Shumpert could be worth considering, writes Alex Schiffer of The Athletic. Shumpert played 13 games for Brooklyn last season and brought a strong defensive presence to the team. He briefly played alongside Harden in Houston, and was a teammate of Irving and Joe Harris in Cleveland.

Latest On The James Harden Trade

January 13th, 2021 at 8:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets were in “deep conversations” with both the Nets and Sixers today regarding a James Harden deal before deciding to accept Brooklyn’s offer, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (video link). He adds that both teams made “very strong offers,” with Philadelphia willing to give up Ben Simmons and Matisse Thybulle, along with draft compensation.

However, the opportunity to pair Harden with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving prompted the Nets to agree to a package loaded with future draft picks. Houston will receive three first-round selections and four pick swaps from Brooklyn over the next seven years (plus a Bucks first-rounder via Cleveland), with all the picks being unprotected. The deal also cost the Nets Caris LeVert, who was subsequently shipped to Indiana, and Jarrett Allen, who went to Cleveland.

The new Big Three in Brooklyn has been brewing for a while, Charania adds. He says Harden, Irving and Durant met in Los Angeles about a month and a half ago and discussed the possibility of teaming up.

There’s more on today’s blockbuster deal:

Simmons was “pretty ecstatic” that he wasn’t traded to Houston, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Simmons thinks the Sixers are capable of winning a title, and coach Doc Rivers is a huge believer in Simmons’ talent.
Harden knew that trade talks had escalated when he made post-game comments Tuesday night indicating that the situation in Houston couldn’t be fixed, states ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (video link). Woj adds that the uncertainty surrounding Irving contributed to the Nets’ urgency to get a deal done, and the trade was made with an eye on convincing Durant to re-sign after his current contract expires.
The Celtics weren’t willing to part with Jaylen Brown to obtain Harden, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (video link from NBC Sports Boston). With young stars in Brown and Jayson Tatum, the Celtics are on a different timetable than the Nets, Mannix adds.
Because the trade hasn’t been finalized, Nets coach Steve Nash couldn’t comment on it in his pre-game session with reporters, tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN. However, Nash did discuss the challenge of trying to blend multiple star players. “It’s about trying to be greater than the sum of your parts,” he said. “That doesn’t change, no matter what your team looks like.”
Handing out grades on the deal, Kevin Pelton of ESPN gives the Nets a D, noting that Brooklyn paid a steep price to get Harden and will regress defensively with the loss of Allen. Pelton gives the Rockets an A-minus for finding their way out of a difficult situation and loading up on draft picks, while the Pacers get a B-plus. The Cavaliers get a C, with Pelton questioning the cost (a first-round pick and future salary) for Allen, who will require a significant raise later this year.

Teams Asking Rockets About P.J. Tucker

January 13th, 2021 at 5:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

With the James Harden situation resolved, multiple teams are contacting the Rockets about P.J. Tucker, tweets Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

The 35-year-old forward was unhappy about not receiving an extension from the team before the season began. He is making $7,969,537 in the final season of his contract.

The Sixers reportedly wanted to pick up Tucker as part of a Harden trade, but they may not have the same interest level now that Harden is headed to Brooklyn. Daryl Morey, president of basketball operations in Philadelphia, brought Tucker to Houston as a free agent in 2017 when he was general manager of the Rockets.

Tucker is in his 10th NBA season and his fourth in Houston. He is averaging 5.6 PPG this year and is shooting 52% from 3-point range.

Rockets Moving Closer To Harden Trade; Sixers, Nets In Mix

January 13th, 2021 at 2:34pm CST by Luke Adams

2:34pm: The Sixers, who have traded away a protected 2025 first-rounder, are attempting to scrounge up more draft picks to sweeten the pot for the Rockets, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. As Stein explains (via Twitter), Philadelphia is making an effort to keep Maxey out of a potential deal.

1:47pm: The Rockets continue to haggle over exactly which players and other assets would be included a Harden trade, but league sources say the Sixers appear to be the favorites, tweets Stein.

Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle confirms that Philadelphia has offered Simmons, but says the Rockets and 76ers have yet to agree on the rest of a trade structure. Houston wants Thybulle included in the package, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

1:28pm: The Rockets are pursuing a Sixers trade package that would be headlined by Simmons and Tyrese Maxey, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). The 76ers are known to be interested in P.J. Tucker in addition to Harden, Stein says (via Twitter).

1:13pm: As the Rockets seriously consider their trade options, they conducted today’s practice without Harden in attendance, head coach Stephen Silas told reporters (Twitter link via ESPN’s Tim MacMahon).

“We felt that it was best for the group and best for James not to come to practice,” Silas said.

The Rockets plan to keep Harden away from the team until a trade is done, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne (Twitter link). That’s another sign that the team is moving toward finalizing a deal in the very near future.

Woj and Shelburne add (via Twitter) that Houston’s talks with Brooklyn and Philadelphia were gaining momentum in recent days, even before Tuesday’s postgame presser.

1:04pm: It appears the Rockets have increased their efforts to trade James Harden in the wake of his blunt assessment of the team’s shortcomings on Tuesday night. According to Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic, Houston is “sifting through offers” from the Nets and Sixers and could move quickly to complete a deal.

Sources tell Charania and Amick that the Nets have prepared a package that would include four future first-round picks and three pick swaps. Teams are only permitted to trade draft picks up to seven years in advance and can’t leave themselves without a first-round pick in consecutive future seasons, so Brooklyn is essentially willing to put all its first-rounders on the table.

In that scenario, the Nets would presumably trade its 2021, 2023, 2025, and 2027 selections and agree to pick swaps for 2022, 2024, and 2026. However, The Athletic’s duo cautions that Brooklyn may hesitate to mortgage so many future assets.

It’s also not clear which players the Nets would make available in such a package. Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link) is among those who have heard that Houston hasn’t been enamored with the players the Nets have to offer. Previous reports have suggested a third team may be necessary to complete a trade sending Harden to Brooklyn, but it’s not clear if the 31-year-old’s comments on Tuesday night changed the equation and prompted the Rockets to lower their asking price a little.

As for the Sixers, Charania and Amick note that the Rockets have pursued a package headlined by Ben Simmons. The report doesn’t make it explicitly clear whether or not Simmons is on the table, but suggests he could be had. According to The Athletic, the Rockets and 76ers have also discussed Matisse Thybulle, a player Houston likes.

While Harden has expanded his list of preferred destinations beyond Brooklyn and Philadelphia, those were said to be the first two teams he expressed interest in joining and are still believed to be atop his wish list. Both teams make sense as fits, since they have the assets to acquire Harden without giving up their very best players.

Joining the Nets would give Harden the opportunity to reunite with former teammate Kevin Durant, while heading to Philadelphia would see him rejoin former Rockets GM Daryl Morey and team up with star center Joel Embiid.

Rockets’ Players, Silas Discuss Harden Situation

January 13th, 2021 at 2:26pm CST by Luke Adams

On Tuesday night, James Harden said that he didn’t feel as if the Rockets were “good enough” to compete with the NBA’s best teams, suggesting that there wasn’t enough talent on the roster and that he didn’t think the situation could be fixed.

Those comments may essentially represent his farewell to Houston, as they appear to have accelerated the Rockets’ efforts to trade him. They also didn’t sit well with some of the teammates he was throwing under the bus.

Addressing the situation today, DeMarcus Cousins pointedly stated that he came to Houston to play with John Wall, and expressed his displeasure with Harden’s public critique of the Rockets and the way he has handled himself over the last month or two.

“He can feel however he wants to about the organization or whatever his current situation is, but the other 14 guys in the locker room have done nothing to him,” Cousins said, per James Herbert of CBS Sports (Twitter link). “So for us to be on the receiving end of some of the disrespectful comments and antics, it’s completely unfair to us.”

While Cousins was referring in part to Harden’s press conference on Tuesday, he made it clear that it’s not as if everyone was on the same page up until then.

“The disrespect started way before any interview,” Cousins said (Twitter link via Herbert). “Just the approach to training camp, showing up the way he did, the antics off the court. I mean the disrespect started way before.”

While other Rockets players who have addressed the Harden situation since Tuesday night weren’t quite as blunt as Cousins, Christian Wood acknowledged that the situation has “been going on since training camp” and said Harden’s comments hurt team chemistry (Twitter links via Herbert).

Wall, who spoke to reporters shortly after Harden did on Tuesday, expressed his frustration with his backcourt mate’s unwillingness to buy in.

“When the one through 15 guys are all on the same page… you all will be fine,” Wall said (video link via Bleacher Report). “But when you have certain guys in the mix that don’t want to buy in all as one, it’s going to be hard do anything special or do anything good as a basketball team.

“… It’s only been nine games. Like, come on, man, you’re gonna jump off the cliff off of nine games? There’s a lot of basketball still to be played.”

Head coach Stephen Silas was diplomatic about the situation, telling the media today that Harden “was nothing but professional” to him personally and calling the saga a “crazy NBA situation” (Twitter links via Herbert). With Harden away from the team, Silas said he’s focused on the other players on Houston’s roster.

“The reaction (to Tuesday’s comments) was less about what James said and more about the group, and how the group would feel about what he said,” Silas said, noting that he believes the Rockets are better than their 3-6 record suggests. “That was my main concern because that’s hard to hear. Especially when you don’t believe it and you know it not to be true.”

While it seemed for a time that the Rockets might drag out their Harden trade talks until the March deadline, it now appears likely that a deal will be completed this week.

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