Harden looks bigger, talks small on deal
Given the chance to address months of speculation that he wants to be traded from the Rockets, James Harden sidestepped questions more deftly than he shakes defenders with his signature step-back.
The disgruntled superstar spoke to the media on Wednesday for the first time since he reported late to camp amid reports that he wants out of Houston. Harden, who made his preseason debut Tuesday night, was asked directly if he wants to be traded.
“Right now, I’m just focused on being here,” he said. “Today was good. Yesterday it felt really good being out there for the first time since the bubble.”
While the rest of the Rockets were in Houston for the start of training camp earlier this month, Harden was photographed at rapper Lil Baby’s birthday party in Atlanta and at a nightclub in Las Vegas.
The Beard was asked what message he was sending to the team by jaunting around the country when he should have been at practice. “I was just training,” he said.
For what?
“The start of the NBA season,” he said. Reporters continued to press Harden about how being in Atlanta and Vegas could prepare him for the season and he answered: “Just, you know, my personal trainers.”
The exchange was curious, especially considering Harden appears to be in worse physical condition than he was during Houston’s last playoff game. Social media went wild with jokes about his apparent weight gain after he was seen in uniform Tuesday for the first time in months.