The suspension of Wednesday’s game between Rockets and Thunder, on the second day of the new season, highlights the difficulties facing the NBA to compete during the coronavirus pandemic, aggravated by the indiscipline of one of its big stars , James Harden.
The escort, the top scorer of the last three seasons, has been holding a pulse with the Houston Rockets for weeks to be transferred to another team.
Harden, the absolute leader of the Texan franchise since 2012, joined the preseason late and in those days released videos in which he appeared in various celebrations in other cities.
Already in Houston, and two days before the official premiere against the Thunder, the escort went to another party on Monday in an indoor space.
The NBA responded on Wednesday by fining the player $ 50,000 for violating league protocols against the Coronavirus, but did not apply any penalty games and Harden could already participate in Saturday’s clash against the Portland Trail Blazers. .
“The precedent is that discipline is set in motion. And it’s Christmas,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN on Thursday as proof of his decision.
“It was a first violation of James under these new protocols and (the $ 50,000 fine) was the limit of my authority. It didn’t seem appropriate to suspend him just for that act,” the executive said.
Silver noted that Harden was “lucky” that the game between Houston and Oklahoma City ended up being suspended due to coronavirus cases in the Rockets because, being in quarantine, he could not dispute it and his salary was withdrawn. corresponding to the match, which amounts to $ 572,985 according to ESPN.
The escort, who has two more secured contract seasons in Houston for $ 41.2 million and $ 44.3 million, wants to be traded to a franchise with more chances of winning the ring than the Rockets, where he has won numerous awards individuals like the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of 2018 but was never able to achieve their coveted Finals.
“Disputes between teams and players have to be handled behind closed doors (…) It’s not the first time a star has expressed his dissatisfaction,” Silver noted. “One expects James to be a professional and honor every aspect of his contract.”
– “A call for attention” –
The conflict between the Rockets and Harden has rarefied the start of the NBA campaign, which was already surrounded by uncertainty over the foreseeable impact of the pandemic.
The league was sheltered at the “bubble” headquarters of Disney World (Orlando) to play the past playoffs but now the competition is back on the team tracks at a time when the United States is experiencing a sharp rise in the pandemic.
Six of the 30 franchises even allow viewers access to their tracks in a limited number.
On day two of competition, the NBA was forced to postpone the clash between the Rockets and the Thunder because the Houston team did not add the minimum of eight players available to jump on the court.
Three of the Texan franchise players had given a positive or inconclusive result in their tests and at least four were quarantined for prevention.
Without offering identities, the NBA reported Thursday that there were two positive results in tests applied to 558 players over the past week.
“I already said we knew we were going to have cases. Just like baseball had cases and the NFL (American football) is operating with cases,” Silver recalled. “We’re going to learn on the fly (…) In the bubble we also started with a set of protocols, but then we continuously adjust them as we learn more, and I think it’s going to be the same situation here.”
“One would never have liked to see what happened on the second day of the season, but it may have a positive side and it has refocused everyone’s attention (…) I think we were used to operating (with security) inside the bubble, ”the commissioner stated.
“It’s a wake-up call for all of us,” he stressed. “Until we’re at a point where vaccines are available to people in our community, and that’s probably a long way off, every day will present new issues.”
The NBA planned to launch the campaign in January, confident that advances in screening tests and vaccines against the virus would allow viewers to return, but in the end, besieged by economic losses, it brought forward the start of the Christmas period so as not to lose. their traditional good television audiences.