Former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka may have saved his new franchise, the Houston Rockets, by issuing a stern edict to his new employers not to pursue a reunion with James Harden — who recently demanded his third trade in three years since asking out of the Space City the first time.
“From everything we’ve gotten out of there, it was a matter that Ime didn’t want him,” one league source told Heavy Sports’ Steve Bulpett. “At the beginning, were they thinking about Harden? Yeah. But then they hired Ime, and Ime said, ‘It’s not going to work here.