Houston Rockets star James Harden missed the team’s first practice of training camp Sunday because of the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, according to coach Stephen Silas.
The NBA’s health and safety guidelines required players to quarantine at home this week when they were not undergoing testing at team facilities, conducting individual workouts or doing essential activities like grocery shopping. This past weekend, Harden posted a picture on his personal Instagram that showed him attending rapper Lil Baby’s birthday party in Atlanta. Neither Harden nor Lil Baby were wearing masks in the photo.
Per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, the 2018 MVP was expected to have an individual workout at Houston’s Toyota Center on Sunday evening, but Harden did not return for that workout. Harden told Rockets brass that he would report soon, according to MacMahon.
“I’m not exactly sure what hoops he has to jump through in order to practice with the team,” Silas told reporters, per MacMahon.
“I would just say I want him here, and I want him to be a big part of what we’re doing. I’m excited to coach him and have him be a part of what we just had out there with a good practice, with a bunch of guys who are working hard on both ends of the floor and had a good vibe about them.”
Reports that Harden wants out of Houston have swirled since another early playoff exit by the Rockets when they were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals. It was rumoured that both Harden and Russell Westbrook wanted to leave the team and Westbrook was dealt earlier this week to the Washington Wizards in a swap of max-salary point guards for John Wall and a first-round pick.
Wall told reporters Sunday that he had a “great talk” with Harden after the trade and “for sure” believes Harden wants to play for the Rockets this season.
“We’re going to figure out what’s the best decision (regarding) when he wants to get here and be here,” said Wall, per MacMahon.
“We’ve been on the same page since I’ve been traded here.”
With files from The Associated Press
