 Okay, so considering the circumstances of what's at stake, where it's happening, and who's involved, you have a coronavirus pandemic, plus party buses, plus strip clubs, plus not showing up to training camp on time, or when the team thinks you're going to arrive late, equals the most absurd trade demand antics in NBA history, right? James Harden is an MVP. One of the best offensive players of all time, but most importantly, he supposedly wants a new team. So the question is, will his antics work? The Rockets have told us they are willing to get uncomfortable with James, meaning if he wants to make a scene, plugging his ears and stomping his feet like Gloria from Wedding Crashers, Houston will let him sit on the bench for the two years remaining on his contract and figure out what to do. He'll do with him when it's most convenient for the franchise. On the contrary, we don't know for sure, but Harden may be willing to get equally uncomfortable if he so chooses. Shenanigans that could certainly bring up questions of business ethics and professionalism. What do I mean by this? Well, thankfully there is precedent for how this usually gets resolved. A lot of it. The standout example is Towelgate, the perennially infamous moment of disrespect in the NBA when Robert Ory's frustration with head coach Danny Ainge boiled over into using him as a towel wrap. First three minutes of gaming, I hear the buzzer, but I don't even look back because I know it ain't for me. And Danny Manning comes in like, oh, I'm coming to get you. I'm like, what? I said, I'm rolling. Now I'm coming to get you. And then on my way back, I walked by Danny and I said, man, that's F'd up, man. He's like, go sit your ass down. And I got down to the end of the bench and I'm like, did he say what? And then I walked back and sat next to him. I said, what did you just say to me? He said, go sit your ass down. And you said, something I don't want to say. And I said, if you can do the towel in space. Ory was traded to the Lakers two days later. Then there's Chris Morris, who while playing for the New Jersey Nets, not only wrote trade me on one shoe, but he politely wrote please on the other. Oh, but it didn't end there. When asked if he wanted to go back into the game, this happened. In this case, Morris actually ended up staying on the team for three more years. One player who paid the price was Andrew Bynum in Cleveland. It feels like yesterday he was kicked out of practice because he quite literally was shooting every single time he touched the ball, no matter where it was on the court. And then obviously shooting a three, I believe I can shoot any shot on the court. And that's how you have to play. And I made one of my first one this year to get me for that. He was suspended, released by the team and did not receive the full 12.5 million in his non-guaranteed deal. Even Vince Carter once threatened he wouldn't dunk anymore. We've seen players weaponize social media and subtweet their way out of town. Claim they didn't have any clue what their shirts said when they put it on. They physically attack their coaches, go for a bike ride in Central Park instead of attend their season exit meeting with the team president, hide in New York City while their team was in the playoffs. And I'm old enough to remember the time Jimmy Butler was so mad he hadn't been traded yet that he grabbed the Timberwolves water boys, 7-0 skunked Andrew Wiggins and Cat, and then had Rachel Nichols waiting outside the gym doors to talk about it. NBA stars have power, and they've never been afraid to use it. But Harton is in a different stratosphere from the examples of Tantrum's past. And if he continues down this path, he may ultimately get what he wants. But at what cost?