James Harden is reported to have thrown a basketball at rookie teammate Jae’Sean Tate during the Houston Rockets’ practice on Monday.
Harden, who has made little secret of his desire to leave Houston, was mum on the subject in front of the media this week but, per The Athletic, tensions have boiled over in the Rockets’ camp. Harden is understood to have had several confrontations with teammates during practice on both Sunday and Monday.
According to Shams Charania:
“The Athletic learned that Harden has had multiple verbal confrontations with teammates in practice on Sunday and Monday, and one confrontation included Harden throwing a basketball at a teammate on Monday.
“Sources say Harden and rookie Jae’Sean Tate had a heated exchange during Monday’s practice, culminating in Harden throwing the ball in Tate’s direction. The ball did not hit Tate.”
Incidents such as this one could be considered pretty normal in competitive environments, yet persons around the Rockets organization view this as being totally out of character for the former MVP given his laid-back personality.
With the NBA’s 2020/21 season poised to tip off today, things are looking pretty grim for the franchise, who would do well to hand James the move he wants as it really makes little sense to continue to hold him captive – although a certain Rockets legend believes otherwise. From the Rockets’ point of view, it’s pretty understandable as James is the most potent scorer in the league; they certainly shouldn’t be keen on receiving a package of lesser value in exchange for their superstar.
