Guard Eric Gordon said he believes the trade that James Harden, the franchise’s disaffected mainstay, sent to the Brooklyn Nets allows the Houston Rockets to have “ real leadership ” under freshman year head coach Stephen Silas, after a chaotic start to the season.
“It was clear that you could tell from the summer and since the season started that I didn’t want to be here,” said Gordon on Thursday after practice, when he was the only member of the organization available to the media. “For us, I think it just gives us the opportunity [tener] a real address. Everyone else on the team can focus and don’t care about their situation. We can move on. “
Gordon was later ruled out for Thursday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Rockets announced a three-team deal with the Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday-morning. Houston’s net loot in the deal is four first-round picks (from the Nets in 2022, 2024 and 2026 and from Milwaukee in 2022 via Cleveland), the right to trade first-round picks with the Nets in another four years, former Cavs point guard Dante Exum and former Nets point guard Caris LeVert and forward Rodions Kurucs. LeVert will be diverted to the Indiana Pacers in a separate transaction by former All-Star security guard Victor Oladipo, sources said.
The deal resolved an uncomfortable few months in which Harden demanded a trade, stayed out of training camp and stated that the Rockets were “just not good enough” after Tuesday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. , which ended up being the MVP’s last game of 2018 in a Houston uniform.
“On behalf of the entire Rockets organization and the City of Houston, I would like to thank James Harden for more than eight incredible seasons in the Rockets uniform,” Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said in a statement. . “James has left us with so many fond memories as we watched him grow from Sixth Man of the Year to All-Star and MVP. My family and I also want to thank James for his many out-of-court contributions, including generous donations and multiple community events. per year. We wish James the best of luck and will always be grateful for the memories. “
Missile Center DeMarcus Cousins criticized Harden for his “disrespectful” hours before the transaction closed Wednesday, saying Harden’s actions and comments were “completely unfair” to his Houston teammates.
Gordon, who came to Houston for the 2016-17 season and was Harden’s oldest Rockets teammate, didn’t take Harden’s comments so harshly.
“To me, who knew him personally, I don’t think he was really serious about disrespecting us,” Gordon said. “That’s just my opinion. I think he just wanted a different situation. He showed that, and he said it too … I don’t think he really didn’t want to respect the players, but he wanted out. got it. “