Houston mayor sounds off on James Harden, Rockets situation

Houston mayor Sylvester Turner sounded off on James Harden’s situation with the Houston Rockets.

It’s well known that James Harden doesn’t want to play for the Houston Rockets any longer, as reports have circulated over time suggesting that Harden has added more teams to his list, seemingly every week. This has squashed any and all hope for Rockets fans that Harden will remain with the franchise long-term, as the more teams that he expands his list to, the more likely it will be that he’s dealt.

For now, Harden is with the team, although it remains to be seen how long the former MVP will be in Houston. The Rockets took the court with Harden on Saturday during their season opener, and Harden scored 44 points, while also dishing out 17 assists, which is a career-high.

The Rockets and Harden are in limbo, as both sides want different things, with Harden wanting out and Rockets GM Rafael Stone wanting him to remain with the team. Houston mayor Sylvester Turner broke his silence on the matter on Sunday, during KHOU’s Sports Extra.

Houston mayor sounds off on Houston Rockets, James Harden drama

“I love me some James Harden. He’s an incredible player, there’s no question about that. But this is just tough when you’ve got one foot in and one foot out and then you’ve gotta help to elevate all of the players around you.

This is a team sport, it’s not an individual sport. He played an incredible game [Saturday night]. Again we come so close and yet we fall short, especially in crunch time, when you need everybody to step up.

I’m hoping that he can get it together and I’m hoping that we can move forward together.”

Turner joins all Rockets fans in hoping that Harden and the franchise are able to work things out, as the Rockets are a much better team with him on the roster, and especially following the Rockets’ close loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night, despite being without three of their best players in Eric Gordon, John Wall, and DeMarcus Cousins.

But Turner is right about how challenging it can be when a superstar has one foot out and one foot in, as every player on the roster must have the same goal of competing for a title for the franchise. Time will only tell if Harden will become committed to the Rockets long-term again.