Houston Rockets star James Harden has reportedly travelled to Portland and been cleared to play against the Trail Blazers tonight, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Harden had previously been listed as available to play on the NBA’s official injury report. He was ruled out of the Rockets’ season opener because of violating the NBA’s health and safety protocols, which prohibit players from attending social gatherings of more than 15 people, after he was filmed at a private indoor party on Monday.
The NBA’s medical staff mandated that Harden quarantine for four days, and continue to test negative for the novel coronavirus each day, before being cleared to return to team activities. He was fined $50,000 for attending the party, but received no further punishment.
Harden, who has reportedly requested to be traded, violated the NBA’s health and safety protocols before the season started as well. During a brief holdout at the beginning of training camp, he attended rapper Lil Baby’s birthday party in Atlanta and posted pictures of himself at the event, mask-less, on his personal Instagram account.
Several other Rockets players, including John Wall, Eric Gordon, DeMarcus Cousins and Mason Jones have received seven-day quarantine mandates that will see them miss at least the team’s next two games, including tonight’s against Portland, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
All four players were listed as “out” on the NBA’s official injury report Friday due to health and safety protocols, which requires players to quarantine if contact tracing deems they have been in close proximity to someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
Wall and Cousins were among Rockets players who gathered at a player’s apartment away from the team facility to get haircuts on Tuesday evening, according to Wojnarowski, where contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 is thought to have occurred. Both Wall and Cousins have since tested negative for the virus at least once, Wojnarowski reported.
The quarantine mandate marks the latest early season COVID-19 setback for the Rockets, whose season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder was postponed because Houston didn’t have enough available players.
Houston travelled to Portland with at least nine players, one more than the league-minimum number to play an NBA game, for Saturday’s game against the Trail Blazers and are expected to be able to compete.
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