Escort Eric Gordon said he believes the change he sent to James Harden, the pillar of the franchise’s discontent, to the Brooklyn Nets, allows the Houston Rockets to have “a real address” under the direction of head coach Stephen Silas, freshman, after a chaotic start to the season.
“Obviously you could tell by the summer and since the season started I didn’t want to be here,” Gordon said after Thursday’s practice, when he was the only member of the organization available to the media. “For us, I think it just gives us the opportunity to [tener] a real address. Everyone else on the team can focus and not worry about their situation. We can move forward. “
Gordon was later ruled out for Thursday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Rockets announced a three-team deal with the Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday morning. Houston’s net loot in the deal is four first-round picks (from the Nets in 2022, 2024 and 2026 and from Milwaukee in 2022 via Cleveland), the right to trade first-round picks with the Nets in another four years, former Cavs Dante Exum base and former Nets Caris LeVert base and winger Rodions Kurucs. LeVert will move to the Indiana Pacers in a separate shift for former All-Star escort Victor Oladipo, sources said.
The deal was resolved after a few awkward months in which Harden demanded a change, stayed out of training camp and declared the Rockets “just not good enough” after Tuesday’s defeat in the night against the Los Angeles Lakers, which ended up being the last game of the 2018 MVP with the Houston uniform.
“On behalf of the entire organization of the Rockets and the city of Houston, I would like to thank James Harden for more than eight amazing seasons with the Rockets uniform,” Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said in a communiqué. “James has given us so many fond memories as we have seen him grow from Sixth Man of the Year to an All-Star and MVP. My family and I also want to thank James for his many off-track contributions, including generous charitable donations and multiple annual community events. We wish James the best of luck and will always be grateful for the memories. “
Rockets pivot DeMarcus Cousins criticized Harden for being “disrespectful” hours before the change ended Wednesday, saying Harden’s actions and comments had been “completely unfair” to his Houston teammates.
Gordon, who arrived in Houston before the 2016-17 season and was Harden’s oldest Rockets teammate, didn’t take Harden’s comments so harshly.
“For me, knowing him personally, I don’t think he was really serious about disrespecting us,” Gordon said. “That’s just my opinion. I think he just wanted a different situation. He proved that, and he said it too … I don’t think he really wanted to disrespect the players, but he wanted to get out. And he got it.” .