Houston gets Paul
The Rockets absolutely had to pull the trigger on the trade. Had they remained in place, they would have run Harden ragged without gaining any ground against the Warriors. Now, they risk failure, but with a legitimate chance of reaping the ultimate reward
Regardless of the perspective from where it is viewed, the Rockets’ acquisition of Chris Paul is exactly the type of move prompted by the Warriors’ continuing ascendancy. Franchise owner Leslie Alexander and general manager Daryl Morey understood the importance of going for the fences with Most Valuable Player candidate James Harden in his prime. Even as they surrendered a significant number of assets in the deal, there can be no discounting the value of their pickup: an All- Star who stands out on both ends of the court, and who performs even better in the clutch.
By all accounts, the principal players pushed for the partnership. At 32, Paul’s championship window is closing fast, and he felt, with ample reason, that he wouldn’t have gotten any closer to the hardware had he stayed with the Clippers. Meanwhile, Harden did a yeoman’s job spearheading the pace-and-space offense of newly minted Coach of the Year Mike D’Antoni, but looked gassed and in need of big-gun help against tougher defenses deep in the 2017 playoffs.
Not that the Rockets’ transition from one- man show to two-pronged power figures to be easy. Both Paul and Harden are ball-dominant movers who prefer to direct — and not simply be part of — proceedings. Moreover, D’Antoni’s pronounced bias for three-point shots and layups at the expense of midrange looks appears on paper to curtail the very strengths of the newest member of a roster that reached the conference semifinals. Then again, history is replete with examples of marquee names who manage to figure out how to co-exist and, more importantly, be better together. The one true variable, it seems, is time, and all concerned are confident the ideal will happen sooner rather than later.
In any case, the Rockets absolutely had to pull the trigger on the trade. Had they remained in place, they would have run Harden ragged without gaining any ground against the Warriors. Now, they risk failure, but with a legitimate chance of reaping the ultimate reward. And they look to improve even further in the understanding that talent begets talent. It’s still crowded at the top, but their elbows are sharper, and they’re finally ready to take
their place alongside the established elite.