Report: Harden should be available vs. Blazers after 4-day quarantine

Houston Rockets star James Harden is on track to be available for Saturday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers after he was ruled to have violated the league's health and safety protocols, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Harden must also reportedly continue to test negative for COVID-19 in order to play.

The 31-year-old is currently adhering to a mandatory four-day quarantine that began Tuesday, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports.

Saturday's contest will be the Rockets' new season opener after Wednesday's affair against the Oklahoma City Thunder was postponed due to Houston being unable to dress the minimum eight players necessary to play. The Rockets were left shorthanded due to three players testing positive or inconclusive for the coronavirus, with another four required to quarantine following contact tracing.

Harden, meanwhile, was deemed unavailable by the NBA after the league investigated footage of the former MVP attending a recent private event at a club, with Harden and several other patrons in the video not wearing masks.

The NBA's health and safety protocols explicitly prohibit players from going to "bars, lounges or clubs, from attending live entertainment or sports events, from using gyms, spas or pools, or from participating in social gatherings with more than 15 people" as it attempts to carry out the 2020-21 campaign amid the pandemic.

Harden was fined $50,000 on Wednesday for the protocol violation but was not suspended. However, had Houston's game against the Thunder not been postponed, the eight-time All-Star would have forfeited $567,000, or 1/72, of his salary this season, sources told Marc Stein of The New York Times.