James Harden had enough with the Houston Rockets. Following Houston’s 117-100 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Harden bluntly laid out his frustration, saying the Rockets are “just not good enough.”
Harden’s unhappiness with the Rockets has been known since November. Harden turned down a mega contract extension. The Rockets traded Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards in exchange for John Wall and heavily-protected future first-round pick.
Harden then didn’t report to training camp on time and was later fined $50,000 for violating the NBA’s health and safety protocols. He also requested a trade, but appeared out of shape when he eventually reported to the team.
Still, through the differences, the Rockets maintained hope of resolving issues with the 2018 NBA MVP. That was largely contigent on the addition of Wall and center Christian Wood.
Wood has been a natural fit with both Wall and Harden, the two guards are still fishing for chemistry. The struggles of the Wizards with the addition of Westbrook to go with star Bradley Beal have overshadowed Harden’s ongoing differences with Houston.
There appears to be no trade imminent involving Harden due to Houston’s steep asking price. Thus Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer reported Harden suitors have turned their eye on Beal, as the Wizards have hobbled to a 3-8 start to the season.
However, the Rockets aren’t much better, and are 3-6 after Tuesday’s loss. Harden, a three-time scoring champion, hasn’t led the Rockets in scoring in the last six games.
It remains to be seen if Harden’s latest honest bit will push the needle for the Rockets to either drop their asking price or entice a team to up the ante to get the disgruntled star.
