In a deal that no one saw coming, the Houston Rockets look to be going for the whole damn thing and just traded to acquire Clippers PG Chris Paul according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
After Chris Paul agreed to opt-in on contract, Clippers are trading All-Star guard to the Houston Rockets, league sources tell @TheVertical
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 28, 2017
Sources: After Paul informed Clippers he’d sign w/ HOU in FA, teams agreed to deal sending Beverley, Decker, Williams and 2018 FRP for Paul. https://t.co/9Lk9FPEPbu
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 28, 2017
This comes days after both Paul, 32, and Clippers teammate Blake Griffin both expressed to the team that they were opting out of the final year of their contracts to become unrestricted free agents.
According to Woj, it looks like James Harden played an active role in recruiting the 9x NBA All-Star.
Chris Paul and James Harden were determined to play together, and found a way with Rockets-Clippers trade agreed upon today.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 28, 2017
In return, the Clippers will receive Patrick Beverley, Sam Decker, Lou Williams and a 2018 1st Round pick as the first phase of their rebuilding process has now officially commenced with Griffin expected to sign elsewhere and the team actively shopping for a trade to ship out DeAndre Jordan, although Clippers brass continue to deny those reports.
Paul has spent the last six seasons making the Clippers into a perennial Western Conference contender, however post-season disappointments which included a record five straight years of blown series leads combined with the lack of a conference finals appearance for one of the greatest players of all time may have sprung Paul into looking at other contenders. One of those teams was the San Antonio Spurs who were swept in last year’s Western Conference finals after sustaining injuries to both PG Tony Parker and MVP finalist SF Kawhi Leonard. Those talks, however, never seemed to materialize and depending on who you ask, the Spurs, like any scorned partner, admit they were never REALLY interested in signing Paul in the first place.
Spurs didn't show significant interest in Chris Paul, source told ESPN. Already have an aging point guard in… https://t.co/yoX8jXqDQg
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) June 28, 2017
Harden is coming off his best season yet as he was edged out of this year’s MVP by previous Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook but critics are already pointing out how this move may not work out as well as it looks on paper. Harden and Houston’s turnaround was due in large part to Harden’s move to Point Guard under Mike D’Antoni’s first season as Rockets head coach, so does that mean the Rockets will move Harden back to the 2-spot (SG) with Paul settling into his natural role as a PG? Will they alternate PG duties?
But hey, at least the Rockets have more answers then questions, right Cleveland?
