One of the biggest news that rocked the offseason featured James Harden wanting out of the Houston Rockets. As it turns out, there was one particular development that led to Harden demanding a trade away from a franchise that he has led over the past eight seasons — and no, it didn't have much to with Russell Westbrook.
According to a report by Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY, Harden made up his mind when the Rockets decided to bring in new head coach Stephen Silas:
All-Star James Harden wanted out of Houston as soon as the Rockets hired Stephen Silas as coach, a person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports.
Early on in the Rockets’ coaching search, management asked for Harden’s input, and Silas, the son of former NBA player and coach Paul Silas, was not among Harden’s top choices, the person told USA TODAY.
The Rockets did not only lose long-time head coach Mike D'Antoni in the offseason but also, former general manager Daryl Morey also made an abrupt exit. This didn't sit too well with Harden and the fact that they replaced D'Antoni with a new coach that the former MVP didn't really find a liking to — allegedly, at least — only added to his discontentment with the team.
As of this writing, Harden remains a Rocket. Houston's front office appears to be doing their best to keep their cornerstone superstar on board, which means that it is still likely that he ends up staying with the team for at least the upcoming season. Should this be the case, and assuming that Harden's distaste for Silas is at all true, then it is brewing up to be quite a messy campaign ahead for the Rockets.
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