The James Harden saga has finally come to an end. He got his way and the Houston Rockets traded him to the Brooklyn Nets, meaning that he’ll be reunited with his former teammate Kevin Durant.
However, the way Harden handled his situation raised some eyebrows inside the Rockets’ locker room. He showed up late to training camp and looking a bit overweight. Then, he called out his teammates, which DeMarcus Cousins think was disrespectful:
“Just the approach to training camp, showing up the way he did, the antics off the court. I mean, the disrespect started way before, so this isn’t something that all of a sudden happened last night. Obviously, it’s disrespectful, but everybody has a right to their opinion. We feel a certain type of way about some of his actions. This is the nasty part of the business that kind of gets swept under the rug,” Cousins told reporters after Harden’s comments.
Nonetheless, Eric Gordon doesn’t think that Harden actually wanted to disrespect his teammates or the organization. That’s why, far from fueling the fire, he had Harden’s back when asked about the situation:
“For me knowing him personally, I don’t think he meant it as far as to really disrespect the team. I think he just wanted a different situation. He has shown that, and he also said it. I think he said in a way where he is forcing out, I don’t think he really meant to disrespect the players. He wanted his way out and he got it,” Gordon told the media.
We can all agree that this wasn’t the best way to end a 9-year tenure in Clutch City. Harden is entitled of wanting to call the shots on his career and he shouldn’t be called out for that. But hey, maybe a different approach would have been better.
