The NBA fined James Harden $50,000 for violating the league’s coronavirus protocols.
When will the NBA permit the Rockets star to play?
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Rockets guard James Harden will be required to isolate until Friday and continue to test negative for the coronavirus before being cleared to return to play, sources tell ESPN. He should be available to play Saturday vs Blazers.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 24, 2020
Essentially, NBA medical is directing a four-day quarantine that started on Tuesday. https://t.co/hXWjNdXAIo
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 24, 2020
Because he had coronavirus over the summer, Harden is highly likely to continue to test negative. People who previously had coronavirus generally develop a resistance to it.
This means Harden will miss no games and therefore forfeit no additional salary. He would have been docked $572,985 for each game missed. Houston’s season opener, originally scheduled for yesterday, was postponed due to coronavirus issues among other Rockets players.
Of course, Harden still wants to be traded. So, there will be plenty of attention on how much he gives Houston.
But at least he’ll be allowed to play against the Trail Blazers on Saturday.