James’ comments draw no rebuttal

Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni and several players on Tuesday did not respond to LeBron James’ criticism of Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of the Hong Kong protesters and the fallout that followed.

James had said that Morey “was either misinformed or not really educated on the situation” and that “social media is not always the proper way to go about things.” James later clarified that he was referring to the consequences of Morey’s tweet.

“From our viewpoint, nothing’s changed,” D’Antoni said. “I’m not going to comment on what other guys talked about.”

Rockets guard James Harden said he had not seen James’ rebuke of Morey but chose to move on. Harden had responded to questions about the tweet at three of the availabilities in Tokyo and again in Houston on Sunday.

“At this point, I’m focused on what we’ve got here in this locker room, focused on getting better every single day,” he said.

In Hong Kong, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday that protesters threw a basketball into a photo of James and stomped and burned various James uniforms with some chanting Morey’s name.

“Everybody is entitled to their opinion, entitled to what they want to say,” Rockets forward Thabo Sefolosha said. “I don’t really have anything to say about it.”

Rockets veteran center Tyson Chandler, who was a teammate of James with the Lakers last season, similarly passed on expressing a position on James’ criticism of Morey’s tweet and the backlash that followed.

“I followed it,” Chandler said of James’ comments and subsequent tweet on Monday. “I don’t have any thoughts. Everybody’s opinion is their own. LeBron’s are his. Daryl’s are his. I like to stay out of (commenting on) people’s thoughts.”