Cousins rips Harden, says interest is to play with John Wall originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
James Harden got his wish out of Houston, as the Rockets sent the eight-time All-Star to the Brooklyn Nets in a massive four-team deal on Wednesday.
The trade came fewer than 24 hours after Harden made that he wanted out abundantly clear following the team's blowout loss Tuesday night to the Lakers.
"I love this city. I literally have done everything that I can," Harden said. "I mean, this situation is crazy. It's something that I don't think can be fixed."
Minutes after Harden made a de-facto trade request, newly acquired point guard John Wall took the podium and ripped his former teammate for wanting out just nine games into the season.
Wall wasn't the only Rocket to publicly call out Harden, either. Speaking with the media Wednesday, Rockets center Demarcus Cousins took Wall's comments to another level, calling out Harden on multiple levels.
"The disrespect started way before any interview," Cousins said. "Just the approach to training camp, showing up the way he did, the antics off the court...the disrespect started way before. This isn't something that all of a sudden happened [Tuesday] night."
Cousins, who just arrived in Houston this offseason, feels that he and the other 14 players on Houston's roster have done nothing to deserve the disrespect they've received from Harden this season.
"He could feel however he wants to feel with the organization, but the other 14 guys in that locker room have done nothing to him," Cousins said. "For us to be on the receiving end of some of the disrespectful comments and antics, it's completely unfair to us."
Cousins wasn't done there, going one step further to say his primary interest being in Houston is playing alongside Wall -- his former college teammate at Kentucky -- rather than Harden.
"My interest is to play with John Wall, to be brutally honest," Cousins said.
On Wednesday, Rockets head coach Stephen Silas opted to keep Harden away from the facility instead of having him attend practice. He was traded just hours later to Brooklyn.
Harden's nine-year run with the Rockets has come to a close, in what was the only resolution to a messy situation in Houston.
