Why it's hard to believe Jay Williams' claims of Rockets' locker room issues

Over the course of the Houston Rockets' rebuild, we've heard alot of rumblings about alleged turmoil and dysfunction within the franchise, from just about anyone who has a voice. Whether it's Bill Simmons proclaiming that the Rockets are going to get rid of everyone as soon as they're afforded an opportunity or Brian Windhorst boldly stating that Rockets coach Stephen Silas was moved to tears, due to an inability to connect with the team (which was later recanted), the reports have been there.

On Monday, ESPN's Jay Williams became the latest to join the fray, as Williams added gasoline to the fire, during an appearance on Houston’s ESPN affiliate 97.5 FM. As the topic of Alperen Sengun came up, Williams pivoted to.....you guessed it...locker room issues.

Williams posed the question, "Can we just figure out what the hell is going on in the locker room?"

When the question was thrown back at Williams, he stated, "I'll tell you, people I talk to, man, it's not good. And I feel bad for Silas. Learning how to hold young players accountable is very tough in today's age, when people just want to quit, want to get out."

Why it's hard to believe Jay Williams' claims of locker room dysfunction

So here we have it again: another random media member mentioning locker room issues for the Rockets, without mentioning any specific incident, or even remotely stating what exactly they're referring to. Stop me if you've heard that one before.

It's perplexing, considering how so many people are willing to point out friction in the locker room, but not one of them can seem to provide an example. And many of them, like Simmons, would seemingly love to expose the Rockets publicly.

So where is the proof? Better yet, why can't we get any proof? Because truthfully, without it, we're no longer able to lend credence to these "reports".

It's simply too easy to say "I've heard this" and "I've heard that", and especially when no one is there to press these "insiders" and hold their feet to the fire about what specifically is transpiring in the locker room, according to their "sources" (if they even have any).

So until we get something concrete, we're forced to disregard these rumors. Unless they're coming from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski or Shams Charania of The Athletic, and those two would provide a detailed account, as opposed to simply stating the magnitude of what they're hearing.