A pair of media reports are shedding light on James Harden's apparent request to be traded by the Houston Rockets.
Two separate reports published on Wednesday suggested the team's recent search for a head coach was a key factor in Harden wanting to move on.
The All-Star combo guard "wanted out" as soon as the team settled on hiring new head coach Paul Silas, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
Harden apparently had other ideas for the position following the departure of former coach Mike D'Antoni, now an assistant with the Brooklyn Nets.
"Early on in the Rockets’ coaching search, management asked for Harden’s input," Zillgitt reported, "and Silas, the son of former NBA player and coach Paul Silas, was not among Harden’s top choices, the person told USA TODAY."
The eight-time All-Star and 2018 MVP was in favor of bringing in former Cavaliers coach Ty Lue, according to NBA insider Joe Vardon -- but team owner Tilman Fertitta was apparently hot on another candidate.
"Harden wanted Tyronn Lue to be his coach in Houston," Vardon reported. "Sources say Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta did not — he wanted Jeff Van Gundy — and the compromise was Stephen Silas."
Silas, a veteran NBA assistant, is the son of longtime head coach Paul Silas. He spent the past several seasons with the Dallas Mavericks after a long run with the Charlotte Hornets.
Lue, meanwhile, was ultimately hired by the Los Angeles Clippers.
Harden's reported request for a trade is the latest in a series of seismic shakeups for the Rockets offseason, beginning with the departures of D'Antoni and longtime general manager Daryl Morey.
On the court, the team has unloaded former league MVP Russell Westbrook and versatile defensive ace Robert Covington, while signing coveted breakout star Christian Wood and bringing back John Wall in exchange for Westbrook.
All that remains to complete the teardown would be the moving on from Harden. The former MVP has spent the past eight seasons with Houston after breaking in with the Oklahoma City Thunder.