Houston Rockets superstar James Harden made his debut Tuesday night, but has yet to speak to the media since he applied for a trade and was briefly left out of training camp.
Harden, who was allowed to practice Monday, violates NBA media access rules by refusing to make himself available to reporters after Houston’s 112-98 victory over the San Antonio Spurs at the Toyota Center .
Harden played 21 minutes to victory, recording 12 points on three-of-10 shooting, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 losses.
“He was fine,” said Stephen Silas, the Rockets ’freshman coach. “I mean, obviously he’s a great player and can do so many things on the ground, on and off the ball. Defensively, he has good hands, he plays and he’s smart. So having him out was fantastic.”
Harden missed the Rockets ’first two preseason games due to COVID-19 protocols because he chose to show up late on the training camp, instead of socializing without a mask in Atlanta and Las Vegas. The NBA required Harden to give negative tests for the coronavirus for six consecutive days before he was allowed to practice with the team.
Harden has avoided answering questions from the media about his desire to be traded, and it’s an issue his teammates say doesn’t feature the Rockets ’long-franchise face.
“At the end of the day, he will do what is best for him and the organization will also do what is best for them,” said John Wall (15 points, three assists), who expressed his enthusiasm for mating with Harden after arriving at a Russell Westbrook trade two weeks ago. “The most important thing is that when we step on this floor, we move on to practice, we focus on basketball.
“I’m not trying to ask him about it because that’s his personal business. All I’m worried about is what we can do to make this Rockets team the best we can be as long as everyone is here and moving forward.”
Silas, who hadn’t had a long conversation with Harden until Monday, said he wasn’t sure how close Harden is to being in his typical form.
“I don’t know how far it is,” Silas said. “I haven’t been around enough to know the answer.”