San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
As West rivals rise, Rockets in tumult
The Warriors have grown accustomed to facing only one serious threat, Houston, to their Western Conference supremacy. With the freeagency madness about to begin, there’s a bold new contender at every turn, and only two teams are in crisis:
The Warriors and the Rockets.
Houston’s offseason has been an embarrassment so far, replete with damaging rumors and contradictions. Reports claimed general manager Daryl Morey was aggressively shopping Chris Paul after the veteran guard demanded a trade. Both men issued terse denials. Another report claimed that Paul and James Harden didn’t speak to each other over a two-month stretch, which seems completely far-fetched (if not impossible) but illustrates the growing, unmistakable tension between the two.
Morey keeps claiming he’ll bring back his starting five, including Paul, and he has to say that, because no forwardthinking team wants Paul at this stage of his career. He’s 34 years old. He’s due $124 million over the next three seasons. And he’s eternally cranky, widely portrayed as a leader but in fact a divisive force among teammates who grow tired of his incessant criticism.
Add the ongoing uncertainty over coach Mike D’Antoni’s contract, the strange dismissal of five of his assistants, and the fact that not everyone (especially Paul) is thrilled with an isolation offense built so rigidly around Harden, and “there’s too much damn turmoil,” ESPN quoted a Rockets source as saying. “There’s some hard feelings right now, everywhere.”
Two thoughts: The Rockets won’t be changing their style as long as they have Harden. It’s an approach doomed to fail in the playoffs, but Harden is a record-breaking force of nature and the heart of the team. And while it sounds sensible for the team to pursue free agent Jimmy Butler, it will be tricky business under the Rockets’ salary-cap restrictions. And for heaven’s sake, why would the ever-demanding Butler even consider playing with the ball-dominant Harden? He should re-sign with the 76ers, a budding powerhouse who gave him every big shot he wanted.
Meanwhile, behold the sudden surge of Western Conference excitement:
Denver: Had a great season, may have a steal in 7-foot-2 center Bol Bol (who fell to No. 44 in the draft) and is likely to find 6-10 former lottery pick Michael Porter free of his back problems and ready to make a run at the starting lineup.
Utah: Looking at a top-four finish in the standings with the addition of point guard Michael Conley, a first-class individual who can score and distribute.
Lakers: Still sorting out the limits of their salary-cap space, they’re hoping to add a third star to join LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Clippers: Ascending under any circumstances. Skyrocketing if Kawhi Leonard comes on board. New Orleans: Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Jrue Holiday, tons of future draft picks — the Pelicans lost Davis and got immeasurably better. (A real shame Julius Randle may be departing through free agency. He’s been underpaid for too long, but he’s been a blessing on this roster.)
Dallas: Looking for a bigname free agent to join Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.
Memphis: Suddenly a wildly athletic (if raw) young team with top draft pick Ja Morant, Brandon Clarke (from Gonzaga) and forward Jaren Jackson.
Sacramento: Needs resolution in Luke Walton’s sexualharassment case, but if Walton is cleared to coach the team, he’ll savor the notion of orchestrating that up-tempo offense. Long known for their frontoffice blunders, the Kings made a smart move in hiring Joe Dumars as a special adviser to GM Vlade Divac. The former Detroit star was the Pistons’ president of basketball operations during their run to six consecutive Eastern Conference finals (2003-08) and the ’04 championship.
It goes on like that, with usual suspects Portland, Oklahoma City and San Antonio gearing up for big seasons. Is it possible that next year’s 1-8 playoff lineup would exclude the Warriors and Houston? Not a smart bet, but not inconceivable, either. As he celebrated Conley’s arrival as an elite backcourt partner, Utah’s Donovan Mitchell took a moment to praise 6-9 forward Eric Paschall, a Warriors’ secondround pick out of Villanova. The two have been close since their childhood in New York, and Mitchell told USA Today, “He brings so much to a team that’s ready to compete now. He’s a defender, he’s athletic, he can shoot and he’s strong.” Few things are more stale than a Kevin Durant rumor, but a report means more when it comes from the respected Ric Bucher, of Bleacher Report. “What I’ve heard, through various places, is that he’s not really happy with how things went down because of the (Achilles) injury,” Bucher said on the “Big Time Basketball” podcast. “There’s an element of, ‘Was I misled as far as injuring myself coming back and playing and having a catastrophic injury like this coming off a calf strain?’ ... I can tell you that people in the KD camp, people are running for cover because they don’t want to be holding the bag on who led him astray . ... I don’t see how that makes him happier with the Warriors than he was before.” Connections: Winston Garland, who broke into the NBA with the Warriors in 1987 and averaged 14.5 points per game for their 1988-89 team, is the father of Vanderbilt’s Darius Garland, taken fifth overall in the draft by Cleveland. And Hall of Famer Steve Nash, who works with the Warriors as a consultant, is the godfather of No. 3 pick (to the Knicks) RJ Barrett. Nash and Barrett’s father, Rowan, were teammates and close friends while playing for Canada’s national team in the early 2000s. The Rockets may be reeling, but they’re still intact. That’s hardly the case with another team forecast to make big noise last season. The Boston Celtics crumbled under Kyrie Irving’s clueless leadership, and he now seems destined to leave as a free agent — as does center Al Horford, who declined a $30 million player option. Lamented the Boston Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy: “It’s hard to come up with a figure more loathed in Boston sports than Kyrie Irving. He lied to us when he said (in October) he was coming back. He blew up the team chemistry. He was a nut. And he choked in the playoffs after telling us all year that he would take care of business then. Now Anthony Davis is a Laker and Al Horford is headed out the door . ... This is a full-blown disaster.”