James Harden returns to practice and is set to play on Tuesday

After being cleared to return according to the NBA’s Covid-19 protocols, former NBA MVP James Harden participated in the team’s practice on Monday and will make his preseason debut on Tuesday when the franchise hosts the San Antonio Spurs, per coach Stephen Silas.

Before they were cleared to the team, Harden and P.J. Ticket arrived at the Rockets training camp late and had to advance to the training camp through the league’s coronavirus testing procedures.

Head coach Silas said, “They were both at practice today and participated and were very good.” “it was good to have them there, good to have their spirit there, good to have their veteran savvy, their smarts, their ability in so many different things that it was good to have. They were both here,” he remarked.

Harden reportedly requested a trade recently, whereas Tucker has sought a contract extension, per reports, as the star enters the final year of a four-year contract signed during the 2017-18 season.

“We had a good conversation, and I’m just gonna leave it at that,” said Silas. “You can ask him about his commitment and all that sort of thing. We had a good conversation. He was locked in. He was asking good questions. He was bringing up good points. We had a good discussion. So, that’s it. We talked basketball. I’m a basketball coach, and he’s a basketball player. We talked hoop today,” he commented.

Both Harden and Tucker fully participated in Monday’s workout at the Toyota Center, head coach Silas expects both of them to play on Tuesday when the Rockets host the Spurs in their third exhibition outing. Due to Houston’s recent schedule featuring back-to-back games against Chicago Bulls, Silas said that the Rockets are “ramping (Harden) up just because of the circumstance,” adding “he’ll play tomorrow and we’ll figure out the minutes tomorrow.”