The suspension of Wednesday’s game between the Rockets and Thunder, on the second day of the new season, highlights the difficulties faced by the NBA to compete during the coronavirus pandemic, aggravated by the indiscipline of one of its great stars, James Harden.
The goalkeeper, the top scorer in the last three seasons, has struggled with the Houston Rockets for weeks to transfer to another team.
Harden, the absolute leader of the Texas franchise since 2012, joined the pre-season delay and in those days released videos in which he appeared at various festivities in other cities.
Already in Houston, two days after the official premiere against Thunder, the guard went to another party in an indoor space on Monday.
The NBA responded Wednesday by fining the player $ 50,000 for violating league protocols against coronavirus, but did not apply a penalty game and Harden could already participate in Saturday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
“The precedent is that discipline is set in motion. And it’s Christmas,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN on Thursday as proof of his decision.
“It was a first violation of James under these new protocols and (a $ 50,000 fine) was the limit of my authority. It didn’t seem appropriate for us to suspend him just for that act,” the executive said.
Silver pointed out that Harden was “lucky” that the game between Houston and Oklahoma City ended up being suspended due to coronavirus cases in the Rockets, as he was in quarantine and could not play it and his salary was withdrawn. corresponding to the game, this amounts to $ 572,985, according to ESPN.
The Guardian, who has two more guaranteed contract seasons in Houston for $ 41.2 million and $ 44.3 million, wants to be traded to a franchise with a better chance of winning the ring than the Rockets, where he has won numerous individual awards, including be the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of 2018, but could never reach his long-awaited final.
“Disputes between teams and players should be resolved behind closed doors … This is not the first time a star has expressed dissatisfaction,” Silver said. “You expect James to be a professional and honor every aspect of his contract.”
– “Attention” –
The conflict between the Rockets and Harden ruined the start of the NBA campaign, which was already surrounded by uncertainty due to the foreseeable impact of the pandemic.
The league took refuge in the “balloon” headquarters at Disney World (Orlando) to play the past playoffs, but now the competition is being played again on the teams’ pitches at a time when the United States is facing a strong pandemic recovery.
Six of the 30 franchises even allow spectators access to their land in a limited number.
On the second day of the competition, the NBA had to postpone the clash between the Rockets and the Thunder, as the Houston team did not have at least eight players available to enter the field.
Three of the Texas franchise players tested positive or inconclusive, and at least four others were quarantined for prevention.
Without providing identities, the NBA reported on Thursday that there were two positive test results applied to 558 players in the last week.
“We already said we knew we would have cases. Just like baseball had cases and the NFL (American football) works with cases,” Silver recalled. “We will learn as we go … We started with a set of protocols in the balloon, but then we adjusted them continuously as we learned more and I think it will be the same situation here.”
“We would never have wanted to see what happened on the second day of the season, but it can have a positive side and maybe it redirected everyone’s attention (…) I think we were used to operating (safely) in of the balloon, “the commissioner said.
“It’s a wake-up call for all of us,” he said. “Until we are at a time when vaccines are available to people in our community and it’s probably far away, every day will present new problems.”
The NBA planned to begin the campaign in January, confident that progress in screening tests and vaccines for the virus will allow viewers to receive back, but eventually, haunted by economic losses, advanced the start of the Christmas period to and loses the traditional good television audience.