James Harden’s future with the Houston Rockets remains as uncertain as it was when whispers surfaced last month that the superstar had demanded a trade. It sounds like the Rockets were unsurprisingly left unhappy with how Harden went about things.
Word surfaced this week indicating that the Rockets felt that Harden’s attempt to force a trade to the Brooklyn Nets so he could join Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving was “improper.”
As Farbod Esnaashari of S.I. lays out in his tweet, the fact that Harden doesn’t presently have an agent — he parted ways with Landmark Sports Agency in 2018 — complicated efforts by the 2018 NBA MVP to exert any leverage on the Rockets.
To say Houston is undergoing a complete front-office overhaul would be an understatement. After seeing another season to come to an end once again in crushing playoff disappointment, widespread changes within the organization were set in motion. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and the organization agreed to part ways, and before that, head coach Mike D’Antoni was let go as well.
Amid the fallout, rumors surfaced that suggested both Harden and fellow superstar Russell Westbrook are concerned about the direction of the Rockets.
While there have been emerging narratives of late that suggest that may not be exactly the case — at least when it comes to a purported disconnect between Harden and Westbrook — things are likely coming to a head in Houston despite the organization’s misgivings about the antics of their superstars.
What’s more, there’s speculation that the purported desire by both Harden and Westbrook to part ways with the Rockets stems from something that has absolutely nothing to do with any on-court issue or concern.
In other words, while Harden’s bold Nets move may have been artless from the Rockets’ perspective, it’s clear the organization has a mess on its hands.
