Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Rockets land Paul, trade former Hog
HOUSTON — Chris Paul is heading to Houston to join James Harden, giving the Rockets two All-Stars in the backcourt to lead their chase for a championship.
In the NBA’s second blockbuster trade in less than a week, the Rockets acquired Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday in exchange for Patrick Beverley (Arkansas Razorbacks), Lou Williams, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre Liggins, Kyle Wiltjer, a protected first-round pick next year and cash considerations. The Rockets acquired Hilliard from Detroit and Liggins from Dallas for cash considerations before adding them to the deal.
“It’s a weapons race in the NBA, and you’re either in the weapons race or on the sidelines,” Houston General Manager Daryl Morey said. “We felt like with James Harden in his prime and Chris Paul in his prime this gives us a real shot to chase the juggernaut teams that are out there. This puts us right there with them.”
Both the Clippers and Houston will look far different next season. The roster overhauls came five days after Minnesota sent three players to Chicago for All-Star Jimmy Butler.
Paul, 32, will be playing for his third team after opting in for the last year of his contract so the Clippers could work on a deal.
Morey wanted to get this deal done early so Paul could help Harden woo free agents to Houston.
“Now that we have James and Chris, I think people are going to look in free agency and say, ‘Hey, I can make this money there but maybe for close to the money but not quite as much I’m going to come to Houston and try to win a ring,’ ” he said. “So that’s a big difference walking in with that kind of a situation.”
Paul is a nine-time All-Star who has averaged 18.7 points, 9.9 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals over his 12-year career, although he has been dogged with criticism in recent years for failing to help the Clippers get out of the second round of the playoffs. Los Angeles reached the postseason in each of Paul’s six seasons with the team, but the Clippers were eliminated in the first round three times and in the Western Conference semifinals three other times.
Perhaps the most crushing playoff series loss of his tenure with the Clippers came to the Rockets in 2015. Los Angeles had a 3-1 lead in the conference semifinals before Houston won the last three games of the series to send Paul and the Clippers home.
The Clippers were eliminated in the first round the past two seasons, and Paul isn’t the only star who may be leaving. Blake Griffin informed the team last week that he is opting out of the last year of his contract to explore free agency. J.J. Redick also is a free agent.
In Houston, Paul joins a team that was eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals. With Harden’s move to point guard last season, Paul’s role will probably be a bit different than it has been in Los Angeles. But he will add another scoring dimension in replacing Beverley in the starting lineup. Beverley received NBA defensive first team honors last week, but he averaged just 9.3 points in his five seasons with the Rockets.