From what I understand he does have NBA connections somehow. I'm not sure from who.The three things I've seen him do was call Carmelo Anthony being cut/waived about a full day before the news broke. He also was told exactly how the Jimmy Butler Wolves practice fiasco went. The other thing he did was call for PG signing a multi-year with OKC before that party was announced. So, it does seem like he has friends that are players. This could completely be unrelated to the NBA or the Rockets though. One thing I can say is that I don't think he's a fan of Harden's playing style. At all.
He was the first to break the Infamous Jimmy Butler Practice and Melo getting waived. I think he is friends like a lot players in the league