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When John Wall said he looked like his old self and Christian Wood became a partner of choice, there was, for a fleeting moment, a last hope that James Harden might be backing down from his business demand. So much for that.
While talks have stifled around Harden’s public demand ahead of the season, Harden still clearly wants to leave Houston. On Tuesday, after Houston was smacked by the Lakers for falling into the Western Conference’s worst 3-7 for the season, Harden needed just a few words to tell all about the situation with the Rockets, which Harden proclaimed “just not good enough. “
“We’re not even close, honestly, to [the Lakers] – obviously the defending champions – and all the other elite teams out there, “said Harden.” I mean, you can see the difference in these last two games.
“Chemistry, talent, everything. It’s clear,” continued Harden. “I love this city. I literally did everything I could. It’s crazy. I don’t think it can be fixed. Thank you.”
Then he got up and walked off the podium.
Shortly after Harden’s comments, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that the Rockets remain engaged in trade talks for Harden, but the asking price remains high and no deal is imminent.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Ramona Shelburne and Wojnarowksi further reported that the Rockets are currently having Harden trade talks with “more than half a dozen teams” and that Houston owner Tilman Fertitta continues to ensure. in Harden that he will find a job for himself. Fertitta is said to have ’empowered’ new Rockets general manager Rafael Stone to make a trade.
None of this is really news, of course. The Rockets have always bought Harden and of course their asking price will be high. The new variable is Harden who publicly loses patience as he faces the fact that he can’t completely intimidate his way out of town with two years guaranteed, plus a third-year option, remaining on his contract.
Aside from voicing his blame to the media, Harden has essentially resigned from the field, scoring under 20 points in each of his last four games. The last time this happened was in 2011-12, according to ESPN Stats & info.
Harden has listed many teams as acceptable business destinations, including the Nets, Sixers, Heat, Blazers and Bucks. But again, Harden doesn’t have all the power here. Yes, he’s a powerful player who, along with his agent, wields major influence behind closed doors, but he’s not a year away. Houston can, and probably will, trade it for the team with the best package, not the team Harden prefers, and by then Harden will be in Houston.
With all the chaos surrounding Kyrie Irving and the Nets right now, you wonder how, if anything, this could impact a potential deal for Harden, or if the Sixers would be willing to shake up the good vibes they are building. with their hot. start the season. In most cases, the teams Harden wants to be traded to don’t have the assets or the incentive to make a deal unless Houston drops its price.
It’s going to be tough for the Rockets to get anything close to fair value, and Harden tries to screw them up on the chance that they buckle under the pressure, get sick of the drama, and cut their losses with a slightest deal to get rid of what will only become a worse headache. Because how long can the organization endure this? How long can other Rockets players share the same locker room with Harden when he tells anyone and everyone that they are not good enough for him?
For his part, Wall is clearly growing increasingly tired of Harden’s act as Houston’s season – Wall’s first season after two years on the shelves – has been hijacked entirely by Harden’s agenda.
“It is [Harden] speak to his own opinion. I can’t know what he thinks of the team or what he thinks we are, “Wall said, via the ESPN report.” I know how hard these guys worked … to try to improve every day. I know how much work I put into it to come back and compete at a high level.
“There are a lot of guys here who want to compete at a high level,” Wall continued. “Like I’ve told everyone tonight and I’ve told the guys before, when one to 15 guys are all on the same page and they engage and they know their role and they know what they want to get out of it and that is to win it is fine. But when you have some guys in the mix who don’t want to buy in one it will be hard to do anything special or good as a basketball team. “
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