Houston Rockets: Ex-coach Kevin McHale says James Harden is not a leader

On NBA TV’s Open Court, Kevin McHale spoke about his former team, especially James Harden.

Kevin McHale, the former coach of the Houston Rockets, is now an analyst for TNT and NBA TV. As such, things can get pretty awkward whenever he has to talk about his old team.

An example of this situation happened last night when McHale was asked about how Chris Paul will fit in with James Harden.

Now, to be fair, McHale had quite a few nice things to say about the Beard. He also said some things about him that are likely true. Still, it was a little uncomfortable to hear him criticize his former best player. Kevin may have had good intentions, but it did not come out that way.

Let’s look at a couple of the quotes, and then share the whole video for you to watch.

"“Talk about phenomenal vision, James can see all the passes and do everything, but James is not a leader. He tried being a leader last season and tried doing all that stuff. I think Chris Paul is going to get him back into being able to hoop and play.”"

McHale started this quote off by talking nice about James Harden, and overall it doesn’t sound all that bad. However, he still straight up said that the Beard is not a leader.

James Harden has definitely worked hard and improved in being a voice of leadership on the team. Back when McHale was coaching, Harden was trying to get better in that area. How would Kevin know what James’ leadership was like last season?

"“On every team, there has to be a voice…if James tells you, ‘Chuck, you gotta play better D,’ are you listening to him? You gotta be kidding me, I lived through it!”"

There is not too much positive to this quote. James Harden improved his defense last season and was more active on that end of the court. This argument definitely would have worked a few years ago whenever McHale was the coach, but it does not apply as much today.

Still, he is right on some of it. Chris Paul is a much better defender than James, of course, and his voice on the defensive end of the court will mean more. Still, it seemed a little disrespectful of Kevin to call out his former star.

Here is the full video, there’s plenty of more quotes about the situation:

The #OpenCourt guys discuss if @CP3’s arrival will benefit @JHarden13 and the @HoustonRockets. pic.twitter.com/hT2bibHrpS

— NBA TV (@NBATV) October 6, 2017

Once again, Kevin McHale probably had good intentions when he said these things. It did not come across that way at some points of his answer.

What do you think about this video? Do you agree with McHale? Disagree? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

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