James Harden has been getting himself into a whole lot of trouble as of late. It all started just a few weeks ago when he decided to skip the first few days of Houston Rockets training camp as he spent some time with the likes of Lil Baby. From there, Harden reportedly got into a kerfuffle with one of his teammates. Just yesterday, it was reported that Harden went to a strip club with no mask on, which led to a cancelation of the Rockets' first game of the season.
The league felt as though Harden put his teammates at risk, which led to some immediate action. Now, Harden is being forced to quarantine all while receiving an abundance of COVID tests. While speaking to reporter Jonathan Feigen, NBA commissioner Adam Silver explained Harden's punishment, noting that he actually got lucky. Had it been any other time of year, Harden could have been suspended.
"The precedent is that discipline gets ratcheted up. It’s Christmas. It was a first offense," Silver said. "In a way he got lucky."
Clearly, this was a bit of a warning to Harden as the next time he breaks COVID protocol, there will be much harsher fines and punishments. Considering Harden could be on the verge of being traded, there is a possibility he will have to maneuver COVID regulations in a whole different city. Needless to say, this has already been a weird start to the year for the former MVP.
