James Harden handled the whole "relationship on hold" thing as maturely as he could, but he may have known better than to hope for the best.

As it turns out, the temporary hold will be a permanent one since Khloe Kardashian has, apparently, made the choice of sticking it out with her man — Lamar Odom.

The sudden turn of events expectedly left the Houston Rockets guard stunned, but everyone else probably saw it coming. In fact, the first indication was the immediate rush of Kardashian to be by Odom's side ever since he landed at the hospital in Las Vegas. From that moment until today, Kardashian has never left her estranged husband's side.

Kardashian had already placed her relationship with Harden on hold and that sign alone was something that could have already hinted Harden of what was to come next.

And eventually it happened — their relationship is as good as gone, with Kardashian deciding to pull out the divorce papers.

Harden saw the signs somewhere along the way. The first hint came when Kardashian announced she would stick with Odom through the rehabilitation process. She took the lead in taking care of her fallen husband and those were already the signs of well, the end.

Harden should have known better in the first place. Kardashian and Odom weren't divorced yet and in he came. They did party and shared moments, but the fact remains that Kardashian obviously still had something inside for her hubby.

Should we feel bad for Harden? Well, yes and no.

Yes because he hung on to some ray of hope that his relationship with Kardashian would prosper. No because all the signs were there; yet, he opted not to see them.

Life goes on for Harden though, no matter how tough it may be. He has a good future and home with the Houston Rockets and a $200 million deal with Adidas as well. He certainly has it made.

And now there may be only one thing left for him to complete his life — a partner to share all his success with.

Would it affect Harden this coming season? It could but being a professional basketball player, it will be his duty to stay focused.