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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.

Latest On James Harden

January 13th, 2021 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

James Harden made some late-night headlines on Tuesday, declaring in the wake of a second consecutive blowout loss to the Lakers that he feels the Rockets are “just not good enough” and that he doesn’t believe the situation in Houston can be fixed.

Harden’s comments represent an escalation in his efforts to force his way out of Houston, but the Rockets’ front office has remained determined to have its asking price met, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, who reiterates that the team is seeking a young franchise cornerstone, along with a collection of draft picks and/or young talent.

A source close to the situation tells MacMahon that the Rockets have had active trade talks with “more than a half dozen teams” and have kept in touch with Harden about those options. The former MVP has continually received assurances from team owner Tilman Fertitta that he’ll be traded, per ESPN, but it seems those assurances haven’t included a specific timeline — and Harden seems to be losing patience.

Here’s more on the situation:

Harden’s desire for a trade was reinforced following Sunday’s blowout loss to the Lakers, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic, who says the 31-year-old is eager to maximize his window to contend for a championship and no longer believes that can happen with the Rockets.
While Harden has expanded his list of preferred landing spots, sources tell Iko that the Nets remain atop that list. The general belief has been that Brooklyn would offer a package headed by Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen, but one league executive who spoke to Joe Vardon of The Athletic on Tuesday believes that if a trade between the Nets and Rockets happens, it would have to be centered around Kyrie Irving.
Tuesday’s performances from Tyler Herro (34 points), Duncan Robinson (26 points), and Precious Achiuwa (17 points and 13 rebounds) helped reaffirm why the Heat are unwilling to send all their talented young players to Houston in a package for Harden, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Jackson recently reported that Miami is open to offering “a couple” of their young players and a future first-round pick for Harden, but the Rockets want significantly more than that.

League Swaps Rockets/Spurs In For Heat/Sixers Thursday

January 12th, 2021 at 5:13pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Given the Heat‘s multiple player absences expected for Thursday, the NBA has opted to substitute a Rockets/Spurs contest in for the originally-scheduled Heat matchup against the Sixers for broadcast on TNT, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times (Twitter link).

Heat players Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic, Bam Adebayo, Kendrick Nunn, Maurice Harkless, Udonis Haslem, and KZ Okpala will be unavailable due to the league’s coronavirus-related health and safety protocols.

Heat center Meyers Leonard will miss tonight’s game against the Sixers due to a shoulder injury, David Wilson of the Miami Herald tweets. His status for the Thursday rematch remains unclear.

Mark Medina of USA Today adds (via Twitter) that the Houston-San Antonio bout will be rescheduled to a 7:30 p.m. EST start time on TNT, and the Heat-Philadelphia game will be moved to a 7 p.m. local broadcast.

Was Letting Crowder Go Big Mistake?

January 11th, 2021 at 9:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It has become more perplexing that the Heat didn’t make a strong push to re-sign Jae Crowder, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel opines. They made Crowder a large, one-year offer in order to protect their cap space this summer but the forward chose more long-term security by inking a three-year, $29.2MM contract with the Suns. The Heat have cycled through Maurice Harkless, Meyers Leonard, Andre Iguodala and Kelly Olynyk in the power forward rotation and could have enjoyed more stability with Crowder, Winderman adds.

O’Connor’s Latest: Harden, Beal, Nets, Sixers, Pelicans

January 11th, 2021 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

While James Harden‘s offseason trade request has dominated NBA headlines for the last month or two, league sources question how willing Rockets general manager Rafael Stone is to deal the superstar guard this season, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer.

With the likes of John Wall, Christian Wood, and even rookie Jae’Sean Tate playing well, front office executives around the NBA believe the Rockets are becoming more confident that Harden will be comfortable staying in Houston for the rest of the season, writes O’Connor. The former MVP still prefers to be traded, but if the Rockets can build upon their early promise and improve their 3-5 record, he may not push quite as hard for a deal.

Here’s more from O’Connor:

Teams around the NBA are keeping close eye on the 2-8 Wizards in case Bradley Beal grows frustrated and decides he wants out. Both O’Connor and John Hollinger of The Athletic suggest there’s a case to be made that Beal could be even more appealing as a trade target than Harden. Beal is nearly four years younger than Harden and has “a more malleable game” that makes him a great fit in any system, O’Connor argues.
The presumed top suitors for Harden, including the Nets and Sixers, would also have interest in Beal, league sources tell The Ringer. The 76ers are a threat to acquire any available star player if they’re willing to put Ben Simmons on the table, but people around the league are more skeptical about Brooklyn’s ability to land a star, says O’Connor.
O’Connor asked 14 executives which under-the-radar teams could be candidates to acquire a star player via trade, and six named the Pelicans — rival execs don’t necessarily expect David Griffin to hoard New Orleans’ excess draft picks for years, given how good Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson already are. The Heat, Knicks, Mavericks, Nuggets, and Spurs also received votes.
In case you missed it, O’Connor also said that Wizards head coach Scott Brooks is “firmly” on the hot seat, as we detailed earlier today.

Eight Heat Players Unavailable Due To COVID-19 Protocols

January 11th, 2021 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

3:58pm: In addition to Bradley, the Heat will be without the following players for Tuesday’s game in Philadelphia due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Reynolds (Twitter link): Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic, Bam Adebayo, Kendrick Nunn, Maurice Harkless, Udonis Haslem, and KZ Okpala.

That would leave the team with nine available players, assuming everyone else is healthy. Meyers Leonard (shoulder) is currently listed as questionable, while Kelly Olynyk (groin) and Gabe Vincent (knee) are probable, Reynolds notes (via Twitter).

2:14pm: The Heat are preparing to be without “at least five” players for the next several days due to possible exposure to the coronavirus, reports Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

Miami didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available on Sunday due to an inconclusive COVID-19 test and subsequent contact tracing, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. As a result, the team’s scheduled game in Boston was postponed. Subsequently, the Heat spent Sunday and Monday awaiting the results of the NBA’s contact tracing investigation to find out which players may be required to self-isolate for the next week, says Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

According to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Heat are arranging for the players who need to self-isolate due to contact tracing to fly back to Miami on a private plane. The player who tested positive for COVID-19 will be sequestered in a hotel, while the rest of the team flies to Philadelphia in anticipation of playing vs. the Sixers.

Based on Winderman’s report, it sounds like the Heat expect to have enough players to resume their schedule on Tuesday vs. Philadelphia, though we don’t know yet who will and won’t be available. Avery Bradley‘s absence due to the league’s health and safety protocols was the only one reported on Sunday — all signs point to Bradley being the player who tested positive for the coronavirus, Winderman notes, but that hasn’t been confirmed.

Heat-Celtics Game Postponed Due To COVID-19 Protocols

January 10th, 2021 at 3:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA has postponed the Heat–Celtics game scheduled for Sunday, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Both teams were dealing with COVID-19 related issues. A Heat player returned an inconclusive test on Sunday, and the team does not have required eight players to proceed with game due to contact tracing, Charania adds. Avery Bradley was ruled out by the Heat earlier in the afternoon due to the league’s health and safety protocols.

Boston was already down to the minimum eight players, mainly due to those same regulations. They had seven players listed as out due to health and safety protocols, including top scorers Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. They also had two injured players on their roster.

However, the NBA plans to trudge on despite increasing issues with the coronavirus. The league has no plans to pause this season, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Avery Bradley Sidelined By Health And Safety Protocols

January 10th, 2021 at 1:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat guard Avery Bradley is the latest player to be sidelined due to the league’s health and safety protocols. He’ll miss Sunday’s game against the Celtics for that reason, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Bradley is expected to miss more games beyond Sunday’s tilt, Wojnarowski adds in another tweet.

Last week, Bradley was listed on Heat injury report due to health and safety protocols because of a stomach illness. His new status is related to COVID-19 contact tracing protocols, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets.

Bradley departed the Lakers and signed a two-year, $11.6MM contract with Miami in November. Thus far, Bradley is averaging 10.0 PPG and 1.7 APG in 22.9 MPG with the Heat. He opted out of last summer’s restart.

The Celtics will be even more shorthanded and might be down to the league’s minimum of eight players, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. They have three players listed as out due to COVID-19 protocols and another, star forward Jayson Tatum, listed as doubtful for that reason. Three other players are listed as questionable, including Jaylen Brown, due to those protocols. They also have two injured players on their roster.

Elisburg Explains Decision To Not Partake In G League

January 9th, 2021 at 3:31pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Sioux Falls Sky Force, the G League affiliate of the Heat, will not be partaking in the 2020/21 G League “bubble” this season. Miami GM Andy Elisburg addressed the decision, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “For us, just for the quick turnaround, it just became a lot on everyone’s plate, and dealing with the fact that it’s an unusual season, managing the COVID,” Elisburg said. “There’s a lot of different things that were on the plate. That’s where we made the decision.”

Major Gap Between Rockets, Heat In December Harden Talks

January 6th, 2021 at 6:48pm CST by Luke Adams

When they were exploring a possible James Harden trade before the start of the season, the Heat were open to including “a couple” of their young players and their 2025 first-round pick in a package for the star guard, says Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. However, the Rockets‘ asking price was significantly higher.

According to Jackson, even if the Heat had offered Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Precious Achiuwa, KZ Okpala, and first-round picks in 2025 and 2027 (along with Andre Iguodala and Kelly Olynyk for salary-matching purposes), it’s not clear that would have been enough to satisfy the Rockets.

The Heat reportedly pulled out of Harden discussions on December 21. Jackson writes that team president Pat Riley thinks highly of Harden, but would only be willing to make a deal for the Rockets star at “a price that’s palatable to him and the organization.”

Avery Bradley‘s defense has been as strong as advertised, and he’s also making an impact on offense in his first season with the Heat, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Bradley’s play in the early going has impressed his teammates, as well as head coach Erik Spoelstra. “Avery is a guy that can play in any system,” Spoelstra said. “As long as it’s a contending team, he fits. He’s a really good basketball player. He’s a winner. And he’s a two-way player, a legit two-way player.”