UPDATED 12/23, 9:30 p.m. ET: The NBA has fined James Harden $50,000 for violating COVID-19 protocols after he was deemed "unavailable" for Wednesday's game against the Thunder, Shams Charania reports. The game was also postponed.
But that's not all.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Harden will also lose $284,000 per game (or 1/145th of his salary) for each game that he misses. It's currently unclear how long he'll have to quarantine for and how many games he will miss as a result.
Harden tested negative for COVID-19 on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported.
UPDATED 12/23, 4:40 p.m. ET: James Harden attended a maskless Christmas party with strippers after the incident involving Jae'Sean Tate, Black Sports Online reports.
The outlet obtained video that was allegedly taken at the party, showing Harden being gifted a Dior suitcase by the party's organizers, Selective Group. Watch the video below.
Per ESPN's Tim MacMahon, the Rockets are working with the NBA to determine if te video above is recent. If so, it could jeopardize Harden's status for opening night, and potentially beyond.
Later on Wednesday, Harden responded to the report via Instagram.
While Harden did say that the space was not actually a strip club, he also admitted to going out, which as MacMahon points out, is a violation of league protocol.
ESPN's Ramona Shelburne tweeted details about Harden's meeting with the league, which you can read below.
Shelburne reports that Harden has tested negative for COVID-19 three times.
See original story below.
As the NBA season gets set to kick off this week, the Houston Rockets might have a problem on their hands.
We all know that James Harden wants to be moved, and now it seems that the whole situation is really starting to boil over. According to a report from Shams Charania, Harden got into "multiple verbal confrontations with teammates in practice on Sunday and Monday." These spats reportedly included Harden hurling a basketball at rookie Jae'Sean Tate following a "heated exchange" between the two.
Sources familiar with the Rockets and Harden tell Charania that the superstar is usually relaxed when it comes to practice, and this "uncharacteristic level of frustration" could be linked to his desire to be traded from the team. At this point, Houston will likely begin the 2020-21 season with Harden as its focal point, but with his desire to be traded to a team like the Brooklyn Nets, a move could come sooner rather than later.
Some league insiders reported that all the speculation hasn't had much of an effect on the team, despite Harden arriving late to training camp after what looked like some wild nights out.
"Since I've been here, nothing has been said about it," Tim MacMahon of ESPN reported last week. "Everybody in the locker room and the coaching staff has been focused on ramping up and preparing for the season. That's all that matters."
Harden hasn't spoken publicly about his trade requests, as Charania reports that he intends on being "professional" throughout the process despite the confrontational practices.
