Several Rockets Players Irate With Star Centric Culture
Houston… we may have a problem. Actually, we have about 700 problems. Let’s catch you up to speed quickly.
James Harden and Russell Westbrook were concerned about the Rockets’ direction. Westbrook then requested a trade and Harden suddenly became okay with staying. You follow the bread crumbs…
That wasn’t the only news to come out of Houston. Other members of the team are also unhappy. We got various news reports about PJ Tucker, Austin Rivers, Aaron Gordon, and Danuel House.
VIA Kelly Iko, Sam Amick and Shams Charania of The Athletic:
Former teammates have described the culture in Houston as problematic, sources said, highlighting a situation that caters far too much to its stars.
P.J. Tucker, the undeniable glue of the team, has been irate over his contract situation all season long, sources said.
Eric Gordon, who won Sixth Man of the Year in 2017 endured a difficult season from an injury standpoint, but was also not pleased with how his role and importance had diminished since the 2016-17 season, sources said.
House was another player who wasn’t pleased with his usage and involvement in the offense and has verbally challenged D’Antoni, Harden, and Westbrook this season, sources said. His January outburst in a road win against the Hawks was the first instance where House publicly lost his cool in that manner but this wasn’t an isolated incident, sources said.
At times, Rivers was unhappy with his inconsistent playing time and utilization, sources said. In one instance, Rivers went on an expletive-laden tirade following a game where D’Antoni called for him to be substituted, only to change his mind and insert new signing DeMarre Carroll. In another instance, Rivers was barked at by Harden after the former MVP missed a free throw and blamed Rivers — who was standing up by the bench — for distracting him
What a shit show! Obviously, this reflects poorly on Harden, Westbrook, and the entire front office. Houston has coddled its stars and it made it difficult for others to shine. Harden has now not gotten along with Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, and Westbrook. This time it’s worse because he wanted Westbrook and now wants out a year later.
The trade never made sense at the time and the Rockets got robbed. Maybe it’s time to just blow the whole thing up and start over?
