James Harden got into a heated argument with a man earlier this week, and part of the quarrel was caught on camera.
According to TMZ, the NBA player was outside of the Flamingo on the Strip hotel and casino in Las Vegas on Monday when some sort of dispute broke out between him and another person, which quickly escalated when Harden tapped the man on his chest before giving him a slight slap across the face. Now, in comparison to the one served by Will Smith to Chris Rock at last year’s Oscars, this slap was mild, to say the least.
Nonetheless, Harden still put his hands on the man during their argument, which took place at around 1:25 AM, per the aforementioned outlet.
There’s no word on what actually caused the pair to engage in a heated exchange, but it’s clear from the video footage that the athlete was not happy with whatever was being said by person he was going back and forth with. Sources further revealed that the man is likely to be part of Harden’s crew, and after the incident outside of the hotel, they continued their night “as if nothing happened.”
Once Harden had taken notice of the fact that people were watching him while he and the man were going at it with one another, he decided to head inside the hotel. But it’s believed that the two were able to squash problem they had between one another minutes prior. When the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department were contacted to see whether police were called to the scene during the night or early morning hours, they said, “We have had no incidents involving James Harden reported to the LVMPD.”
Harden joined the 76ers last year and has been quite the addition to the team. With that said, however, a potential challenge of having added him to the 76ers is his ball-dominant playing style as he’s used to being the primary ball-handler and decision-maker on offense, which could take away touches and opportunities. The team, however, has found a way to balance the three stars’ playing time and usage rates, which could require some adjustments to the team’s overall offensive strategy.
The 76ers were rumored to be interested in other potential trade targets, including Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards and Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls. While both of those players are talented scorers, they do not have the same level of versatility and playmaking ability that Harden brings to the table.
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In addition, neither Beal nor LaVine would have addressed the team’s need for outside shooting and spacing in the same way that Harden can. While there may have been fewer potential fit issues with those players, the upside of adding Harden was too great for the 76ers to pass up.