Rockets acquire Paul
Clippers get Beverly, 6 other players, 1st-round pick in blockbuster
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, 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 than they did in again falling short in the playoffs. The roster overhauls came five days after Minnesota sent three players to Chicago for AllStar Jimmy Butler to kick things off with NBA free agency opening Saturday.
The 32-year-old Paul 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 AllStar who has averaged 18.7 points, 9.9 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals over