Source: Carmen Mandato / Getty
The NBA season for the Houston Rockets hasn’t even gotten underway yet and the squad has gotten off to a rocky start.
Just days after disgruntled James Harden threw a basketball at a teammate, allegedly, seemingly in an effort to fast track a trade out of Houston, the NBA has already canceled their season opener as a few players tested positive for COVID-19. According to the Huffpost, the Rockets season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder was pulled from the schedule after the team couldn’t put out a league minimum of 8 players on the court.
After three players tested positive or inconclusive (lowkey positive) for the Coronavirus, some contact tracing led to four other players getting quarantined for exposure to the virus. James Harden meanwhile had broken league protocol when he turnt up at a private party where the event was not only crowded, but James was maskless while in attendance.
The league later announced the fine for Harden, saying the protocols prohibit attending indoor social gatherings of 15 or more people or entering bars, lounges, clubs or similar establishments.
It seems like James Harden wants out of Houston so bad he’s willing to contract COVID like it’s all good. SMH. Still, Harden tried to explain himself in a since deleted IG post.
In the post he wrote: “One thing after another. I went to show love to my homegirl at her event (not a strip club) because she is becoming a boss and putting her people in a position of success and now it’s a problem. Everyday it’s something different. No matter how many times people try to drag my name under you can’t. The real people always end up on top.”
Still, wouldn’t have hurt to wear a mask. Just sayin.’
Since it was revealed that Harden had broken league rules about socializing during a pandemic, the NBA has ordered him into quarantine which could end up costing James $500,000 for each game missed due to protocol violations.
The team is still currently scheduled to play their next games against Portland on Saturday and Denver on Monday, but if more tests come back positive for COVID, things could change ASAP.
As for The Beard, whether his blatant violations of protocol is enough to force the Rockets hand to trade him and avoid having his toxicity begin to really infect the locker room remains to be see, but judging from the looks of things, a change of scenery might come sooner rather than later for the leagues leading scorer.
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