The Houston Rockets have yet to hold their unofficial team-wide offseason workouts, but veteran guards James Harden and Eric Gordon got a head start this week in The Bahamas.
Newly acquired guard Russell Westbrook responded with “Locked and Loaded!!!” in the Instagram comments section.
Harden and Gordon are entering their fourth season together in Houston. Assuming Gordon finishes the season with the Rockets, the only NBA players with more experience playing alongside Harden would be Clint Capela (six seasons) and Patrick Beverley (five).
Gordon’s current four-year contract is set to expire after the 2019-20 season. If the 30-year-old does not agree to an extension with the Rockets, he will effectively be in a “contract year” in which the level of his play this season could correlate strongly with his next deal.
Meanwhile, Harden — who turns 30 later this month — already appears to be in strong physical condition well ahead of the start of NBA training camps in late September.
Harden averaged 36.1 points, 7.5 assists, and 6.6 rebounds in 36.8 minutes per game last season, while Gordon tallied 16.2 points (36% on 3s) in 31.7 minutes per game. Harden finished second in the NBA’s 2019 MVP voting after winning the award in 2018.
Earlier this week, Harden took time to meet the Temple University men’s basketball team, which played three games in Nassau.
The majority of the 2019-20 Houston roster is expected to train and work out together later this month in Los Angeles, California, according to The Athletic‘s Kelly Iko and Alykhan Bijani.
