James Harden isn’t the only one happy he’s out of Houston.
Harden’s former Rockets teammate, Eric Gordon, said Thursday it was clear Harden “didn’t want to be here” before his trade to the Nets.
“Obviously, you could tell from the summer and since the season started that he didn’t want to be here,” Gordon said after Houston’s shootaround on Thursday before facing the Spurs, a game Gordon was later ruled out for.
“For us, I think it just gives us a chance to [have] a real direction,’’ Gordon said. “Everyone else on the team can hone in and not worry about his situation. We can just move forward.”
They’ll be moving forward with a much different look and a stash of future draft picks, courtesy of the Nets, who for the second time in less than a decade mortgaged their future on a win-now trade.
They shipped a package that included Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, three first-round picks and four first-round swaps to the Rockets in exchange for the disgruntled Harden, who said this week the team was “just not good enough. Chemistry, talent-wise, it was clear… I love this city. I literally have done everything that I can. I mean, this situation is crazy. It’s something that I don’t think can be fixed.”
That statement helped Harden force his way out of Houston and to Brooklyn, where he’ll be reunited with former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Kevin Durant, and be alongside Kyrie Irving.
The Rockets, meanwhile, sent LeVert to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Victor Oladipo.
Another Rocket, DeMarcus Cousins, criticized Harden on Wednesday, saying Harden had been “disrespectful” and “completely unfair” to the team prior to the trade, but Gordon wasn’t as bothered by Harden’s comments.
“For me, knowing him personally, I don’t think he really meant it as far as disrespecting us,” Gordon said. “That’s just for me. I think he just wanted a different situation. He’s kind of shown that, and he also said it… I don’t think he really meant to really disrespect the players, but he wanted his way out. And he got it.’’
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