NBA Rumors: Houston Rockets Uncover James Harden Dark Past; Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook Reveal Secret Behind SG Trade

By Mitch de Leon
NBA: Houston Rockets at Philadelphia 76ers
Mar 9, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) attempts to pass against the defense of Philadelphia 76ers guard Ish Smith (1) and guard Hollis Thompson (31) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Rockets won 118-104. Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Rockets are known to build a roster around franchise leader James Harden. In fact, the NBA team puts more significance on The Beard's presence in the group compared with that given to Dwight Howard and Ty Lawson. The perceived authority he has over the Houston Rockets regularly manifests itself in the NBA trade rumors circulating those speculated to be not pleasing Harden.

For his part, Harden went on to become an NBA MVP runner-up last season - second only to the great Stephen Curry. Given his spectacular run in the previous year, some league experts even feel that the Houston Rockets star performed better than the Golden State Warriors player. With this in mind, fans of Harden feel that the Oklahoma City Thunder might have regretted their move to trade him. However, sources now reveal that the Kevin Durant team possibly moved Khloe Kardashian's ex beau not because of his skill.

Reports are now surfacing that the habit of Harden of partying too much caused him to be kicked out of the NBA team. That is, the Russell Westbrook squad appears to have opted to sacrifice a talented player incapable of keeping it together during the season. Harden, albeit skilled and has the MVP potential, reportedly became too much to handle for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"It was a lot more about James and James' mindset," disclosed Steve Kyler via a podcast with the Basketball Insiders. He added, "You're kind of seeing it play out now in Houston, is what the Oklahoma City Thunder were afraid of, and that is, if you rewind back to the NBA Finals run, James was kind of a ghost in the NBA Finals. In Miami, there were rumors that he was out late on South Beach."

During that period with the Durant squad, Harden saw his team lose the 2012 NBA playoff series in five games with The Beard failing to pitch in productively. While the Houston Rockets have yet to release any official statement on the matter, some sources leaked that the 2014 NBA playoff series saw the star doing the same thing. If Harden's addiction to too much partying is true, then the first-round loss of the Houston Rockets in the hands of Damian Lillard's Portland Trailblazers then now has an explanation.

At the moment, Harden is taking the blame for the lackluster performance of the Houston Rockets this NBA season. Sports analysts and fans have been pointing out his weak plays in the hardwood court. However, it looks like Harden has no intention of letting any of the issues get to him.

"It comes with it," shared Harden of the blame he gets when the Houston Rockets lose, according to the Houston Chronicle. He added, "When things are going really well, I don't get too high. When things are not going well, I don't get too low. You're going to get criticized. I don't pay attention. You're going to have haters and people that love you. If it bothered me, it would take away from what I need to be doing, what I need to be focused on."

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