Every basketball fan — fanatic or casual — has probably played a decent amount of pick-up basketball. This means we have all played with that one guy who has to take the ball down the court every. single. time. The guy who needs to have the ball in a tight game or in the final moments left on the shot clock.
Now the Houston Rockets have two of those guys.
The Rockets acquired nine-time NBA All-Star Chris Paul in a trade that sent Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Sam Dekker and the Rockets’ 2018 first-round pick to the Clippers. So many parts of this trade are fascinating and there is plenty to look at and pick apart. Paul went to Houston after opting into the final season of his contract with the Clippers, dependent on the idea that he would be traded.
The Wolves look better now
A quick note for Timberwolves fans: Jimmy Butler may not end with the career that Paul will, but right now, he is just as good and younger. The Wolves dropped only nine spots in the draft via the pick swap and lost a pair of role players to add an All-Star. The Rockets gave up a starter and defensive cornerstone along with picking apart their bench and losing a first-round pick. When dealing with a grown-up franchise, the cost for talent is far steeper than the one paid by the Wolves. This is the biggest robbery since the Brock Osweiler heist of the Houston Texans.
How does the CP3/Harden duo fit?
Paul ranked first in the league, possessing the ball for 8.9 minutes per game, while James Harden came in seventh at 7.2 minutes according to sportVU. That was a lot when they played separately, but now that they play together, the problem of only having one ball could prove insurmountable. However, this could — to reiterate, could! — work a couple different ways.
While Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant showed us that two superstar shooters can both get hot and coexist, the real key will be in staggering minutes. The reigning coach of the year, Mike D’Antoni, is a superb architect of time management for his studs, meaning there should be few points where we see the Rockets without at least one of their new dynamic duo on the floor. The other factor is Harden finding his catch and shoot game in crunch time from Oklahoma City days past.
While Harden is great at driving into the paint and drawing the foul, Paul is the better facilitator and should be the one with the ball in his hands late in the game. If Harden can settle for the same number of shots with less dribbling, then this could be a match to give the Warriors a run.
Did they get the right Clipper?
If the Rockets are pushing hard for Paul George — as reports would have us believe — then the real question is did they snag the right player from Los Angeles? Blake Griffin is a five-time All-Star who they would have haggled over money with, but could have saved assets on to use on George. After losing staples to the rotation like Williams and Beverley, any other players lost would start to make the roster shaky even with the big three. Now, however, the Rockets appear to be out of the running for George’s services.
The other thing to consider if Griffin was the acquisition is how that team stacks up to the Warriors. Griffin could play a small ball center with Harden, Williams and Eric Gordon causing all the damage from outside and Beverley offering a defensive edge. Or they could go big and have Nene, Ryan Anderson and Griffin on the floor with a Harden and Williams/Gordon backcourt.
Does not sound bad does it?
Why to like the trade
Plenty can moan and complain, while others will simply pack it in the next few season and wait for Golden State to burnout while they wait for draft picks to hit. But a few teams will have the savvy, resources and roster to make aggressive moves for the chance to overthrow the champions. The reason to love the trade is that this is why we love basketball free agency. If you want a chance at a title, you need a lot of factors to go right on your team, a lot of pieces to fall into place, but the number one ingredient needed is superstar talent and the Rockets just added another.
The other reason to love the trade is this makes the playoffs far more interesting. The Wolves should make for an interesting series and the Rockets are clearly gunning for the Warriors. The Spurs may also feel pressure to add more pieces around Kawhi Leonard after the Houston trade.
WAY TOO EARLY PREDICTION: There will be no clean sweeps in the West next season.
The landscape moving forward
The big names to look for are still Griffin and Kyle Lowry. George is still a trade for option and Gordon Hayward suddenly finds himself in Paul’s position, leaving us to wait and see if he opts back into his deal with the Utah Jazz for a trade or hits free agency. Teams like the Rockets and Cavilers who have tried numerous ways to pry George from Indiana may settle for players like George Hill, Jeff Teague, Jrue Holiday, Patty Mills and Andre Iguodala. Paul Millsap is the under the radar player to keep an eye on and where he moves.
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