John Wall decided to respond to James Harden’s comments on the Houston Rockets and the whole situation surrounding the team and their star player for the last 8 years. Harden requested a trade from the team at the start of the offseason and he hasn’t hesitated to show his discomfort with the team and the fact that he’s still playing in Houston.
Even though the Rockets were reportedly confident that Harden could at least stay for this season, the player decided to shut down all those rumors on Tuesday night, making it clear that he loves the city but he doesn’t want to stay there.
“I love this city. I’ve literally done everything I can. This situation is crazy. I don’t think it can be fixed. Thanks,” Harden told reporters on Tuesday.
The Beard is set to leave the Rockets and that’s not a secret. However, that is hurting his team’s chances to compete and Wall went after that following the game. The point guard explained that he can control what Harden says, but he did react to those comments, seemingly taking a shot at the Beard for his attitude.
“No comment. . . He’s entitled to his own opinion. … All I can control is what I can control as a player, and as a leader.”
John Wall on James Harden believing it can't be fixed: "He's entitled to his own opinion. … All I can control is what I can control as a player, and as a leader."
Says he feels the #Rockets were hurt by the early injuries and quarantines. https://t.co/74Qbp42rdk
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) January 13, 2021
Wall knows that this situation can be turned around but he wasn’t happy learning that Harden is on the same page as everybody else.
“End of the day, a lot of guys here wanna compete at a high level,” Wall said. “When the 1-15 guys all on the same page and they commit, they know their role, they know what they wanna do, they know what they wanna get out of this that’s to win, you all will be fine. But when you have certain guys in the mix that don’t wanna buy in all as one, it’s going to be hard to do anything good as a basketball team.“We can’t dwell down on it because it’s only been nine games. Come on, man, you want to jump off the cliff after nine games? There’s a lot of basketball still to be played.”
“It’s only been nine games. Come on, man, you want to jump off the cliff after nine games?"
John Wall on James Harden reportedly wanting out of Houston https://t.co/rmevt9SntW
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 13, 2021
The former Washington Wizards player wants to make great things but he knows reaching their best level will take time, something that Harden apparently doesn’t have.
“I’ve been on those teams…my first five years where it was all about me, me, me, me, not about the team and it hurts and it brings everybody down,” Wall said. “So if we can all get on the same page, we can do something good here.”
At the start of his tenure with the Rockets, Wall was very polite and actually optimistic about playing alongside James Harden but things have changed now. The Beard hasn’t changed his stance on trade and his new teammate seems to be tired of that situation.
The Rockets and Brooklyn Nets have a lot of problems right now and a swap deal with Kyrie Irving and James Harden could be what they need to solve all their problems.
