‘I Don’t Try to Ask Him About That”: Rockets’ Teammate John Wall Maintaining Distance from James Harden’s Antics

The end to the John Wall era in the Washington Wizards was inevitable. He has been absent from the NBA games for two years now because of injury issues. He was rumored to make his big comeback this season. But the Wizards couldn’t have relied more on someone whose value isn’t guaranteed anymore. So he was traded off to the Houston Rockets to play alongside James Harden.

The Wizards received Russell Westbrook in return for Wall. This is because, despite predictions, Harden and Westbrook just did not fit together. On top of that, as soon as the offseason began, Westbrook demanded to be traded himself. He is a ball-dominant player who wasn’t getting to play the way he wanted with Harden on the roster.

However, Westbrook wasn’t the only one who wanted the Houston Rockets off his back. Shockingly, James Harden himself wanted to move to the Brooklyn Nets and join his former teammate, Kevin Durant. But the Rockets have not yet given in to Harden’s demands, and they won’t do so until they get a good enough deal for a player they consider to be in the top five in the league right now.

All of this led to Harden not showing up for training camp on time. At first, it was claimed that his absence was because of COVID-19 protocols. But Harden was seen partying on some occasions, so his antics could be taken as a sign of protest.

James Harden is the least of John Wall’s problems

Now, Harden is back with the team, and he even joined them on Tuesday in the preseason opener against the San Antonio Spurs. However, it doesn’t look like anybody can change his mind about the trade.

One would think that maybe Wall could convince Harden to give them one shot, but John isn’t concerned about anything except giving his all to the new team.

According to Tim MacMahon, “John Wall on James Harden’s desire to leave Houston: ‘I don’t try to ask him about that because that’s his personal business. All I worry about is what we can do to make this Rockets team the best that we can be while everybody is here and move forward with that.'”

It isn’t wrong for Harden to request for a trade, but he was wrong in dealing with the situation the way he did. From the Rockets’ perspective, they shouldn’t keep a player who isn’t going to whole-heartedly play for them. As of now, the Nets and Philadelphia 76ers are the possible landing spots for Harden. Let’s wait and watch where Harden’s NBA career takes him next.