While the New York Knicks figure out what to do next, the Houston Rockets have begun preparing for the 2020-21 season, though it's been done so far without their best player. James Harden has yet to show up to training camp for the Rockets, which has drawn speculation that Harden's feelings towards the franchise still stand.
According to Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated, Harden has a very disturbing view of the Rockets:
Some news: A person familiar with James Harden’s thinking described the Rockets’ culture as toxic and called them the “Knicks of the South.”
— Rohan Nadkarni (@RohanNadkarni) December 7, 2020
The Rockets appeared set to come into the season with Harden playing with a new star guard after trading Russell Westbrook for John Wall. It was even reported that Wall had shown an interest in playing with Wall for some time, which made the Rockets front office more willing to pull the trigger on the trade despite Wall's injury history.
Even so, Harden has been playing by his own rules coming into next season. He's been spotted out in Las Vegas partying along with hanging out with rapper Lil Baby, which hasn't played over well so far with newly hired head coach Stephen Silas. Harden had agreed to return for an individual workout with the Rockets on Sunday, but that plan didn't come about as Harden once again skipped out on Houston.
“He's not here, and he has a reason, but that's on him to tell whoever what the reason is,” said Silas on Monday.
Silas admitted that this is also a significant step back for the club. The Rockets made significant improvements to their roster to better Harden's chances of competing for a championship at the highest level. With Harden's latest choice of words, his time in Houston could be forced to an end soon.
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