Landing Paul gives Rockets new look
HOUSTON— Throughout Daryl Morey’s tenure as general manager of the Houston Rockets, he’s abided by a clear, simple game plan: collect talent, and figure out the rest.
The Rockets have plenty of figuring out to do.
There’s little doubt the trade Morey pulled off Wednesday — moving guards Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams, forwards Sam Dekker and Montrezl Harrell, a protected 2018 first-round pick and some still-being-collected non-guaranteed salaries, to the Los Angeles Clippers for superstar point guard Chris Paul as sources confirmed to the Washington Post — is a coup for Morey and the Rockets. The move will pair Paul with James Harden to form one of the most lethal partnerships in the NBA.
But in making the move, Morey is pushing his game plan to the limit, as the fit between Paul and Harden, between Paul and Rockets Coach Mike D’Antoni, will be fascinating to watch. It also means something else: the Rockets aren’t done chasing talent this summer.
On the surface, Paul and Harden are an awkward fit. Both pound the ball into the ground — Harden ranked first in time of possession and Paul seventh, per SportVU tracking data — and are used to having complete control of their teams. But that ignores the fact both Paul and Harden have clearly chosen this as the best path forward for each of them.
Harden, who finished as a runnerup for the NBA’s MVP award for the second time in three seasons, campaigned for Paul to join him in Houston. In turn, Paul could have entered the free agent market and talk to multiple teams when he became a free agent on July 1, perhaps joining the San Antonio Spurs, who could use a point guard. By opting into his deal for next season and facilitating this trade, Paul made it clear he wanted to play for the Rockets — and, specifically, wanted to play with Harden.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be growing pains. This feels much more like Dwyane Wade and LeBron James teaming up with the Miami Heat in 2010 than Kevin Durant joining the Golden State Warriors last summer. Durant felt like he was created to play alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green; Wade and James, despite their close friendship, had to learn how to share the ball in order to make their partnership work.
And Paul, famously one of the most hard-driving players in the league when it comes to getting on his teammates, will no doubt be the first one to bark at Harden if he doesn’t play at a much higher level defensively than in the past.
Anyone who thinks Morey is satisfied with his team immediately fol- lowing this trade is fooling themselves. No one is more active, or tries to make more moves, than Morey, who has remarkably gone from the hot seat a year ago to resuming his spot as one of the most secure general managers in the league.
The biggest trade piece out there is Paul George, the Indiana Pacers star who has made it clear to management he will not be re-signing with them when he can enter free agency next summer. A Houston package frontlined by Eric Gordon, the newly minted Sixth Man of the Year on a fantastic contract (roughly $13 million over the next three years) — and who played collegiately at Indiana University, to boot — could be enticing to the Pacers.
Plus, if anyone is willing to sacrifice assets for a chance at a star like George without any commitment for the future — believing he can convince said player to stick around — it is Morey. Remember his ethos: collect talent, and then figure out the rest.