Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas labeled former NBA MVP James Harden's absence from the team's training camp as a holdout Monday and said there is "no timetable" for the All-Star guard to report.
After Harden missed the Rockets' first team workout Sunday, Silas pointed to the league's COVID-19 protocols as the reason he didn't practice with the club. Later Sunday, however, Harden failed to show up for an anticipated individual workout.
Harden, who reportedly has requested a trade to the Brooklyn Nets, hasn't been in communication with Silas recently, according to ESPN. Harden informed Rockets management that he would report to the team soon, but Silas was uncertain about when that would happen.
"There is no timetable, as far as I know," Silas told reporters following Monday's practice. "It is a setback. You want your best player to be here."
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Silas said he was unsure whether Harden was back in Houston yet. The 2017-18 NBA MVP posted pictures on social media over the weekend of him attending rapper Lil Baby's birthday party in Atlanta. Other photos and videos of Harden spending time in Las Vegas have circulated on social media in the last few days.
The NBA hasn't announced any discipline after Harden's violations of the league's coronavirus protocols, which require players to remain in quarantine except for essential activities and team-related workouts.
Harden also is subject to fines for failing to report to the Rockets' training camp, but Silas said that hasn't been considered to this point. The coach said he had "no clarity about the message" Harden was trying to convey to the team by skipping workouts.
"I've been in situations before where it was a holdout, and we just kind of handled each individual situation on its own merit and individually," Silas said. "As far as any sort of punishment, we haven't even crossed that bridge yet. We're just trying to work piece by piece.
"... I have no clarity about the message, honestly. I take it basically at face value that he's not here. What the reasoning is, is on him. He's the one who can explain why or why not he's not here. For me to make inferences and think about the possibilities isn't real to me. What's real is he's not here, and he has a reason, but that's on him to tell whoever what his reason is."
The Rockets have said they will not rush a trade involving Harden, who has two seasons plus a player option for a third season remaining on his contract.
