It has been revealed that Chris Paul is planning to meet with the Houston Rockets this summer. What is the potential fit of the great point guard?
It is no secret that come July 1, Chris Paul will be one of, if not the most coveted free agent on the market. Paul is coming off another fantastic season in which he averaged 18.1 points, 9.2 assists, and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 41.1 percent on three-pointers.
Many were (and still are) expecting Paul to simply re-sign with the Los Angeles Clippers along with Blake Griffin to continue their push to make the conference finals. However, there had previously been rumors that Paul was interested in joining the San Antonio Spurs this summer, in the hopes of improving his playoff chances.
Now, it has been reported by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times that Paul is also planning on meeting with the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets during free agency. This news throws a slight twist in the situation, and while it might just be a smoke screen, there could be some legitimate interest from Paul in the two teams.
For Paul (who just turned 32), joining the young and inexperienced Nuggets doesn’t make the most sense when you consider his ultimate goal is competing for a championship. Denver is a fun young team, but its core players are still developing and growing, putting championship contention another few years away.
However, the Rockets are certainly in contention mode, with almost all of their core players in their prime or shortly passing their prime. This of course, is led by James Harden. Harden is coming off yet another MVP quality season and will turn 28 in late August. The time is now for the Rockets to strike with Harden in his prime.
Almost immediately after the rumors were revealed, many Rockets fans were doubting the potential fit between Harden and Paul. The biggest concern was the sharing of the ball, and specifically, playing Harden off the ball more.
Many fans pointed to the disastrous pairing of Harden and Ty Lawson in the 2015-16 season, but there are several differences when it comes to pairing Harden with Paul. First, Paul is significantly better than Ty Lawson. From defense to three-point shooting, Paul has a huge leg up on Lawson. Lawson was in a troubled stage of his career (and life) when he joined the Rockets, and has been an ineffective player even after leaving Houston.
Second, the Rockets have Mike D’Antoni as coach, not Kevin McHale. It’s no secret that D’Antoni is one of the greatest offensive minds in basketball history, while McHale was never known for his X’s and O’s. Surely D’Antoni would be able to effectively pair and mesh the two players together, especially if both are invested in playing off the ball and coexisting.
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Those are two very important differences between a potential Paul-Harden pairing and the Lawson-Harden pairing. When a player of Chris Paul’s caliber is interested in meeting and/or signing with your team, you don’t pass that up.
Now, turning our attention to the actual fit on the court. Paul and Harden are obviously both point guards, but that doesn’t mean they can’t both play off the ball for times. In fact, with Paul handling the ball for a significant portion, he can take a good amount of the offensive burden off of Harden, providing him with more energy for defense and late game situations.
Plus, Paul is more than a capable three-point shooter. Last season Paul shot 41.1 percent from beyond the arc, and he boasts a career three-point shooting percentage of 37 percent. Paul is also deadly on corner three-pointers, shooting 48.4 percent on such shots last season.
Finally, Paul is a deadly midrange shooter. Yes I know the whole idea of Moreyball and the Rockets’ system is to limit midrange shots, but Paul’s ability to get those shot attempts out of the pick-and-roll could go a long way in diversifying the Rockets’ offense, thereby making it even harder to defend.
In the playoffs, the Spurs knew exactly how to defend the Rockets, giving them countless midrange shots the team simply wouldn’t take. Paul would capitalize on such opportunities, and his presence would open up better shots for the players around him.
Harden has played off the ball for significant stretches of his career in the past. Yes, the Beard is incredible with the ball in his hands, running the offense and creating for others. However, even during the disappointing 2015-16 season, Harden averaged 29 points, 7.5 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game.
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Harden is a career 36.4 percent three-point shooter (including 38.2 percent on corner threes), so he is more than capable of playing off the ball and still contributing/getting his numbers. With Mike D’Antoni as coach, you better believe he will get creative to find the best ways to mesh the two players.
Interestingly enough, Paul was close to signing with the Rockets back in 2013, to join Harden and Dwight Howard. However, the Clippers were able to trade for Doc Rivers and Paul eventually signed the max contract with them.
It remains to be seen just how interested Paul is in joining the Rockets. One thing is for sure though: it would be easier for the Rockets to create the cap space to sign Paul than it would be for the Spurs. The Rockets have players such as Ryan Anderson and Lou Williams that could be traded to create enough space to sign Paul.
The Spurs, on the other hand, would have to trade away several key players and let others leave in free agency, leaving them with a depleted, top-heavy roster.
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Regardless, all of these questions will be resolved in the next two weeks or so as free agency begins on July 1. It’s safe to say that the Rockets would be a better, more dynamic team with the addition of Chris Paul, and the team should go all in on signing him this summer if presented with the opportunity.