James Harden isn’t worried about the details of his divorce from the franchise when he returns to Houston to face the Rockets Wednesday night (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN) for the first time since his commercial application was finally granted. .
“They showed me crazy love and respect, and I’m just excited to play in front of those fans,” Harden said.
Harden has apologized for “how he fell” in his final months with the Rockets, when he was pushing for a trade, but Harden said he does not regret the actions that led to his desired result. He got what he wanted: the opportunity to play with a rival again, specifically in the Brooklyn Nets, and he is making the most of the opportunity.
Harden is happy and is getting an MVP level for the hottest team in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, times are tough for the Rockets, who are shattered by injuries and with a 12-game losing streak entering the return of their former MVP.
A review of the saga months before Harden’s departure from Houston:
“It’s very, very frustrating, especially the amount of work I do individually. But I’ll keep scattering. I’ll keep going and keep going until I can’t go any further. I feel like We’re a bit away. We just have to keep trying to figure out “Keep trying to grow and put the right pieces around me and Russ to get where we want to go.”
– Harden, after the Rockets were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in a second-round five-game series
The drastic renewals of the Rockets list did not lead to improved results.
The Houston head office, at Harden’s urging, turned Chris Paul over and a first-round pick pack for a friend, former teammate and recent teammate MVP Russell Westbrook. Largely to accommodate Westbrook, the Rockets made an unprecedented commitment to the small ball, sending great Clint Capela into a four-team deal that Robert Covington reached, suddenly turning 6-foot PJ Tucker into 5 in the shortest starting center in the league by several. inches.
For a while, the Rockets ’wild experiment worked. Houston won 10 of 12 games in a one-month period, a stretch highlighted by a road victory over the Lakers, fueling hope that the unconventional Rockets could really fight.
Then the Rockets ran out of gas, losing four of their last five games before the COVID-19 pandemic stopped the season. They never returned to the track, as Harden and Westbrook reported the bubble late in Orlando, Florida, after contracting the coronavirus, and then Westbrook leaked the quadriceps during the planting program.
Houston narrowly avoided the humiliation of losing to Paul’s Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round, surviving the seventh game by two points thanks to a late block that Harden saved in series. They beat the Lakers in their first game of the second round, but dominated the rest of the series, being impressed by 23 points in the elimination game.
The main topics of Harden’s post-game interview were the uncertain condition of coach Mike D’Antoni with his contract expiring, resolved the next morning when D’Antoni announced he would move from Houston, and the permanence power of the Rockets ’unusual style. . The final question to Harden was an investigation into whether he was willing to adapt his game, perhaps playing more on the ball.
“To answer your question, yes, I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” Harden said. “Especially to win.”
“For the last eight years or so, our goal has been to win a championship because we had James Harden. We still have James Harden. Our goal is to win a championship and, if you have it, you are halfway there. I’m Stephen [Silas] and the whole team to find out the rest of the set, but the key piece is there. “
– Rafael Stone, in his first press conference since he was promoted to CEO of Rockets
Daryl Morey, the general manager that Harden’s 2012 trade invigorated the Rockets franchise, announced his resignation in October. Morey cited a desire to spend time with his family and was hired as president of basketball operations for the Philadelphia 76ers 13 days later.
Several sources in the Houston organization firmly believe that Morey made a precautionary decision, which came out in large part because he anticipated Harden would want to leave, beginning a period of rebuilding the Rockets. According to sources, Morey had expressed concern inside the bubble about not being able to “keep James happy,” due to a lack of selections to use as commercial fodder to make updates to the low-season roster.
Harden’s happiness, or lack thereof, was Stone’s problem after Rockets’ longtime executive director was promoted to replace Morey. But getting Harden to communicate with him was difficult for Stone and the Houston front office, a factor that delayed the search for a coach that eventually ended with the hiring of Silas, an NBA assistant. longtime he was a finalist when Houston hired D’Antoni for four years. before.
By early November, the Rockets had reached a private deal with the fact that the Harden-Westbrook pair vanished, as friends no longer wanted to play together. This was problematic, given the high price the Rockets paid at the Westbrook trade the previous summer, but Houston could meet the Westbrook trade.
While the Rockets had hardened, they had hope. They just needed to convince Harden, who annually insisted on the urgency of the offseason to seek a title.
1:18
Rockets head coach Stephen Silas talks about James Harden’s current state and how he focuses on coaching the team.
“I have no clarity about the message. The reasoning is about him. He is the one who can explain why or why he is not here. For me to make inferences and think about the possibilities is not real to me. What is real? is that he is not here and has a reason, but that is up to him to tell whoever his reason is. “
– Silas, the second day of Rockets training
Weeks before the camp opened, a senior Rockets source told ESPN the team was “willing to feel uncomfortable,” and stressed that the main office felt no urgency to change Harden. and Westbrook before the start of the season, despite the unhappiness of the stars. not to be pressured to treat them for pennies.
Westbrook finally got his wish days before the camp opened, as the Rockets rushed when the Washington Wizards offered a protected first-round pick along with guard John Wall.
After avoiding the Toyota Center when the rest of the NBA players did individual training at the team’s facilities, Harden missed from the start of the training camp, instead of attending the training party. rapper Lil Baby’s birthday in Atlanta, lavishing his friend with extravagant gifts and posting pictures of the affair without masks on Instagram.
From there, Harden went to Las Vegas. The Rockets attributed Harden’s absence for first-team training to league safety and health protocols, but Silas acknowledged the next day that it was an obstacle.
“As for the schedule, there’s no schedule as far as I know. And it’s a setback,” Silas said. “You want your best player to be here. And there’s a short window. It’s a setback. I have to be honest and understand that it’s a setback by not having one of the best players in the NBA here.”
Harden’s late arrival ensured that he would miss virtually the entire camp, as he had to test negative for the coronavirus for six consecutive days before being allowed to join the team’s activities. Harden’s explanation for the trips to Atlanta and Vegas: “I was just training.” No doubt Harden had convinced the Rockets group to get serious about their commercial request. His priority was to execute an exit strategy.
“We’re just not good enough. Chemistry, talented, everything. … I love this city. I’ve literally done everything I can. I mean, this situation is crazy. It’s something I don’t do. I think it’s possible solve “.
– Harden, after the Jan. 12 loss to the Lakers, his last game in a Rockets uniform
Harden, well aware that the Rockets ’trade talks with the Nets and 76ers had intensified, delivered what amounted to a farewell speech during his virtual press conference after Houston’s fourth loss in five games.
He left the Toyota Center as a rocket for the last time.
Harden was told to stay home instead of coming to practice the next day, as Stone put an end to a four-team deal that sent Harden to Brooklyn and made up for the Rockets with four picks. first round, four first round swaps, former All-Star bodyguard Victor Oladipo and a couple more players to cover the salary.
The price Houston asked for Harden had been a young cornerstone and a historic package of selections. The Rockets ended up having to commit, choosing the Nets ‘offer, led by a pack of selections on the 76ers’ proposal, with Ben Simmons as the centerpiece, but significantly less active in the draft. And that closed the chapter on Harden’s tenure in Houston, which had eight seasons of individual brilliance but always fell short of the NBA Finals.
“I thought I would never leave this franchise. I thought I would go to Houston, obviously, for the rest of my career. Things happened. I have different goals and I’ve seen a different vision for myself and my career and the my family “.
– Harden, days before his return to Houston
Harden has walked since arriving in Brooklyn, following his vote to fit in with Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, with skeptics wondering how three of this generation’s top scorers could share a ball .
Harden has adapted his game to focus more on facilitating. Harden has always been an elite passer, having won the NBA assist title in 2016-17 before securing the league’s top scorer in the next three seasons, but that part of his game has blossomed. especially with the Nets. He has averaged 11.3 assists on average in 22 games with Brooklyn, and officially became the guardian of Irving’s statement of back-track roles during a practice last month.
Harden remains the top scorer, but has the luxury of being more selective with his shot with the Nets. He averages 25.3 points per game, which would be Harden’s lowest season since he was Thunder’s sixth man, but with the best career clips in field goal percentage (.490), 3 points (.419) and effective field goal percentage (.589).
Harden is also down 8.7 rebounds per game for Brooklyn, which would be another better run. He has seven triple-doubles for the Nets, who have won nine of their last 10 games despite Durant’s prolonged absence due to hamstring strain.
Yes, Harden has done whatever it takes to win. For him, it meant leaving Houston.