Mad Max never really bit his tongue. And seeing his team spiral has made him even more unfiltered. The Houston Rockets are suddenly not looking great. The situation is making all fingers to point at Kevin Durant. Even Vernon Maxwell, the guy who was close to popping the champagne prematurely at the offseason, is now disavowing the entire blockbuster trade. Especially after the way the Rockets-Lakers game went down.

Joining Matt Barnes on All the Smoke from the comfort of his living room repping the Florida Gators ahead of the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Mad Max laid the blame for the Rockets’ recent struggles squarely at the feet of Kevin Durant. Maxwell claims the illusion of the championship hopes has fractured along with the locker room following a series of off-court distractions.

“It’s so much s— going on over there in Houston, man,” Maxwell lamented about the team he won two championships with. “The Rockets, man, like I said last year, all we need was KD. We got KD, a guy to roll the ball out to get you a bucket. But now everybody’s standing around watching KD.”

Max took a direct shot at KD’s burner page controversy, where he allegedly criticized his own teammates for decimating the team’s chemistry. “They said some s— about some ‘secret page’ KD did and talked about some of the players on the team, and they [expletive] split the goddamn guys up and guys don’t like to high five each other no more. Everybody don’t want to bump chest no more with each other. Everybody just, it’s just split up the whole f—ing team.”

In a very explicit statement, Maxwell appealed to his old team to fly him out there so he can, “change this s— around.” He wants to chat with the team, nothing else. He’s not looking for a job.

The tension became so palpable during the talk that when Matt Barnes suggested Maxwell should be brought in as an assistant coach to fix the culture, the Rockets legend stood up and walked off the frame in a moment of comedic frustration. After returning, he doubled down on his refusal to join the modern coaching ranks.

“Hell no… I can’t deal with these motherf—ing youngies.” He feels he might create more chaos if he was on the Rockets coaching staff. He’d rather just give them a talk.

Although the team is so far beyond a pep talk.

Houston Rockets break down with Kevin Durant drama

The latest chapter in Kevin Durant’s complicated history with social media is an alleged burner account that surfaced during the All-Star Weekend. He reportedly showed a poor opinion of his young teammates which he otherwise wouldn’t express in public. It allegedly caused some locker room friction that is spilling on to the floor.

This digital friction spilled over onto the court during the March 17 matchup against Los Angeles Lakers. The lack of communication, the team’s internal collapse, and Slim’s distraction were obvious in a trainwreck of a second half. KD only had two points in the entire second half and the Lakers forced him into six turnovers. He also committed a careless backcourt violation that cost Houston.

The Rockets scored only four points in clutch time and were unable to function when Durant was double-teamed. During that game, observers noted a distinct lack of communication between Durant and the rest of the starting lineup, validating Maxwell’s claim that the team chemistry is in shambles.

According to some reports, the lack of “chest bumping” and “high fives” isn’t an exaggeration. The Rockets have seen a significant dip in defensive energy, falling from a top-five defensive rating in February to middle of the pack in March.

Durant’s own post-game comments, where he suggested he might need to “go sit in the corner” and “get out the way,” have only added fuel to the fire. As the Rockets fight to maintain their playoff positioning, Maxwell’s dream to see the Houston Rockets win a title seems further away because of locker room distrust.