James Harden: Rockets 'Not Good Enough'; I've Done 'Everything That I Can'

James Harden is done being subtle about his desire to be traded. 

After Tuesday's 117-100 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Harden told reporters he didn't think the Rockets were good enough to consistently win and said he doesn't think it can be fixed:

In one fell swoop, Harden basically threw his teammates and the team's culture under the bus and publicly reaffirmed that he doesn't want to be with the Rockets any longer. If there was a college course on how to publicly demand a trade without actually publicly demanding a trade, Harden would be its professor. 

Not surprisingly, the comments made Harden the center of NBA Twitter:

All of this after Harden was the center of attention before the Lakers game, too, albeit for far different reasons:

Harden wasn't the only one being honest after the game. John Wall told reporters the on-court fit with Harden has "been a little rocky."

Yikes. It's all just one big yikes in Houston. 

Harden surely isn't helping the chemistry or the on-court play, given how clearly unhappy he is in Houston. Over his last five games, he's averaging only 17.4 points per game while shooting 37.8 percent from three and 25.6 percent from the field. For a player of Harden's MVP-level standard, those numbers are abysmal. 

However, it's also fair to question whether Harden's desire to be traded is hurting his chances of being dealt, or at the very least damaging his trade value. Generally, the perception is that Harden's incredible offensive ability overrides any potential culture concerns he brings to the table. But some general managers around the league are likely watching Harden's approach to this season and wondering if he could pull the same trick on them if he ever grew unhappy in that situation. 

That makes giving up young and talented players for the 31-year-old Harden a risky proposition. Somebody will pull the trigger—Harden is a singular scoring threat when engaged—but it may lead to a slower-developing trade market than the superstar is willing to accept.