Whatever James Harden has wanted since joining the Houston Rockets via trade in 2012, the team has overwhelmingly delivered, often ditching successful on-court combinations based on the star guard's preferences, reports ESPN's Tim MacMahon.
That influence was on display when the Rockets heeded Harden's desire to jettison star teammates, including a pair of inevitable Hall of Famers in Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, and dismiss former head coach Kevin McHale, sources told MacMahon.
In the case of Paul, whose presence in the Rockets' backcourt alongside Harden propelled the team to 65 wins and a Game 7 conference finals appearance in 2017-18, Harden's proclivity for disengaging entirely from the offense when he didn't have the ball was reportedly a point of major tension.
While the Rockets' brass reportedly hoped to keep the Harden-Paul tandem together for a third season in 2019-20, Harden's ultimatum that the team acquire his suddenly available former Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook - or otherwise acquiesce to his own trade demand - quickly resulted in the league-altering Paul-for-Westbrook swap last summer, per MacMahon.
But like Paul, Westbrook reportedly found himself at odds with the Rockets' Harden-centric universe, also petitioning then-coach Mike D'Antoni to help enforce a more structured, egalitarian approach.
Still, the team's on-court success with Harden is hard to deny. The 31-year-old led the league in scoring in each of the last three seasons, has an assists title to his name, and was voted league MVP in 2017-18.
The Rockets currently boast the longest active postseason streak in the NBA, qualifying in each of the Arizona State product's eight seasons in Houston, even though the organization has fallen short of a Finals appearance during the Harden era.
"We knew who the boss of the organization was," an unnamed ex-Rockets assistant coach told MacMahon. "That's just part of what the deal was when you go to Houston. The players, coaches, GM, owner all know.
"I don't blame James. I blame the organization. It's not his fault. He did what they allowed him to do."
However, the Rockets now appear more willing to stand up their generational scoring talent. To date, the team hasn't yielded to his push to be traded, despite the recent acquisition of former All-Star point guard John Wall reportedly failing to change Harden's feelings about remaining in Houston.
