Mark J. Terrell / Associated Press
The Houston Rockets ‘turbulent off-season has seen the departure of Daryl Mori, president of basketball operations, and Mike Denton, head coach, but now Athletics’ Kelly Iko, Sam Amic and Shams Charania have revealed that there were questions behind the scenes in TeamWide. During the 2019-20 campaign.
Notably, issues of responsibility as well as various concerns of shooting guard Eric Gordon, forward / center PJ Tucker, guard Austin Rivers became prevalent during the season.
On the responsibility front, Athletic introduced the January player meeting, in which Westbrook told his team-mates what they needed to do next during the losing streak following the loss of the Portland Trail Blazers. Apparently did not sit well with star defender James Harden.
“A large proportion of angry people are caused by a lack of accountability. During the locker room meeting in January, Portland, Westbrook, which was chairing the meeting, went around the room following the loss of the house, indicating what was wrong,” the source said. When it came to Hardik, he was not as receptive to criticism as other teammates, sources said.
Athletic also reported that “former teammates considered Houston’s culture problematic, highlighting a situation that caters too much to its stars,” the source said.
Speaking of Gordon and Rivers, both men seemed annoyed with their role on the team. According to sources in The Athletic, Gordon was “not happy with how his role and importance diminished since the 2016-17 season.”
With regard to rivers, Athletic reports the following:
Sources said, “At some point, Rivers was unhappy with his inconsistent timing and use. In one instance, Rivers went to Tirade, full of explosives following a game, where D’Antoni vowed to change him, just to change his mind and sign new ones.” In another instance, a former MVPA missed a free throw and after the rivers – which were standing by the bench – were accused of distracting him, the rivers were peeled by Harden. “
As for Tucker, the small-ball big man is “worried about his contract status all season” and believes he deserves to be reared after seeing three other D and D players strike around the league. He also “insulted” Houston, who reportedly delayed expansion talks and did not guarantee his 2020-21 salary until the February 6, 2020 trade deadline.
After receiving Westbrook from the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Rockets had high hopes of entering the 2019-20 season, but finished fourth in the regular-season position at the Western Conference. The NBA barely got a snack by the same Thunder in the first round of the playoffs before losing five games against the final NBA champions Los Angeles Lakers.
It looks like everything is going differently at the seam now, with athletic reporting that Westbrook wants a trade. Former NBA big man and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins It has also been reported that Harden is not returning the late Rockets brass call calls as he is unhappy that he was not included in the decision-making process.
In addition, ESPN’s Tim McMahon reported that he was concerned about the future direction of the Westbrook and Harden rockets following the front and fee and coaching turnover.
Eventually, we’ll find out soon how the Rockets won’t let this season run, as the regular season is set to begin on December 22. Nov. With the 18th draft and the free agency ready to start in two days.
