Retro teammate’s chore is to prod, push The Beard
This is about James Harden. Paired with his third superstar since Kevin McHale was fired. Again getting what he wants when he wants it from the Rockets.
This is about Russell Westbrook suddenly and shockingly being reunited with his former Oklahoma City teammate and friend.
But really, if you want to know the truth, this is all about Chris Paul.
It was broken between Harden and Paul.
A summer apart wasn’t going
to repair the divide. And when the NBA got really crazy — Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, LeBron James and Anthony Davis playing professional basketball in Los Angeles — during the same summer, the Rockets saw their opening.
Trade Paul away.
Wrap Westbrook in red. Get it done.
Why is Westbrook suddenly teammates with Harden again, seven seasons after The Beard left Kevin Durant and a homegrown super team in small-market OKC, evolving from a sixth man into the game’s greatest scorer? Because the Rockets knew they had to move on from Paul this summer. It’s as simple and direct as that.
McHale came and went. Harden won that one. Dwight Howard did the same. Harden won that one, too. This summer, it was Paul’s turn, after it became increasingly clear the fallout was too great between the undisputed face of the Rockets and a declining 34-year-old point guard with an insane contract.
This is a huge gamble for the Rockets. And I mean huge.
But the Rockets also knew they had to do something this summer — that’s why 95 percent of the roster had been on the trade block after they fell to the Warriors again. Harden was 99.9 percent untouchable. Next up on the see-ya-later list: one of the game’s most respected point guards and a future Hall of Famer — who’s also injury-prone and set to make $124 million the next three seasons.
You can say Westbrook also has a monster deal. You are absolutely right. But Westbrook is younger (30), more talented and dangerous, and in his prime. By sending a frustrated Paul away, the Rockets received an instant on-court upgrade. Now they possess two of the top players, scorers and competitors in a league defined by superstars.
Maybe the Rockets really regret this in a year. Maybe they never win a championship with Harden leading the team and we realize they spent way too long catering to the wrong superstar. For all his surreal numbers, the mysterious face of the Rockets has so much to prove.
But in the Western Conference and in the NBA in 2019, if you’re not first, you’re last.
The Rockets swore all summer that everything was fine between CP3 and The Beard. I told you many times that wasn’t the real, honest truth. That there was so much more hidden underground,
protected by a perfect curtain. Then Thursday night’s bombshell hit.
The day before, I wrote that I would believe the Rockets’ 201920 opening-night roster was officially set 90 minutes before tipoff. Expect everything; don’t be shocked by anything. While everyone was focusing on Westbrook joining Jimmy Butler and taking his talents to Miami, I said I didn’t know how the Rockets could say no if they found a way to move on from Paul while adding the 2016-17 MVP. Boom goes the dynamite. Will Wesbrook be a true No. 2 to Harden? He reportedly wanted out of Oklahoma City at the same time George did.
Will he push, propel, criticize and challenge Harden like a true superstar teammate should? That’s one of the reasons the Rockets wanted Butler before the Heat stole him.
And will Harden, 29, also be willing to sacrifice, thus allowing Daryl Morey, Mike D’Antoni, Tilman Fertitta and Co. to get the best out of Westbrook in the 12th season of his career?
Get ready for a season of humungous questions and a larger microscope than ever.
D’Antoni should have a contract extension. If you’ve stayed up on all the summer drama, you know he doesn’t. Now he’ll be asked to get the absolute best out of two stars who excel with the ball in hand, all while potentially coaching his final year inside Toyota Center.
Fun, fun, fun.
The storylines are so thick it’s a novel in waiting.
An injured Durant is in Brooklyn; Harden and Westbrook have rejoined forces in Houston.
The Warriors have fallen, but the remade Lakers and Clippers stand in the Rockets’ path.
Harden is coming off the best year of his career. Westbrook has been a living, breathing tripledouble three consecutive years. But both are nationally doubted and criticized, and Harden must make it work with another highly demanding superstar teammate. The Rockets thought Paul could be tough to deal with? Hopefully, they watched Westbrook’s media interview highlights on YouTube before they finalized the deal.
When the Rockets traded for Paul two summers ago, they threw a triumphant parade inside Toyota Center. Two summers later, they sent Paul away when they realized they could pair Harden with a better star.
It’s time to see if Harden and Westbrook can rediscover their OKC magic.
But this is what I’ll be watching for all year: Can Westbrook push Harden harder and further than anyone has?
Because that’s the only way this huge gamble is going to work.