The Houston Rockets have agreed to a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers that will send Chris Paul to Clutch City. Here are NBA Trade Grades for both sides.
2017 NBA free agency hasn’t arrived yet, but there have already been plenty of big names changing hands.
Leading up to the draft, the Boston Celtics traded down from the No. 1 overall pick to continue stockpiling assets. Then the Los Angeles Lakers sent a former No. 2 overall pick to the Brooklyn Nets in the D’Angelo Russell deal that was basically a Timofey Mozgov salary dump.
Then the Atlanta Hawks dumped poor Dwight Howard. Then the Chicago Bulls lost their minds on draft night, shipping superstar Jimmy Butler off to Minnesota for a paltry return.
As The Vertical‘s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday morning, the NBA world wouldn’t even have to wait until July 1 for the fifth blockbuster deal of the summer.
According to Woj, the Houston Rockets have agreed to a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers for Chris Paul, sending Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Sam Dekker and a 2018 first round pick in return. The LA Times‘ Brad Turner reports Montrezl Harrell will also be included. Kyle Wiltjer was later added to the pile when the deal was made official.
The Rockets were also looking for non-guaranteed deals to include in the trade, per NBA insider David Aldridge, while ESPN‘s Brian Windhorst reported that Houston is “painting salary-cap manipulation masterpiece,” which had numerous teams around the league calling to get involved.
The Rockets traded cash considerations to the Dallas Mavericks for DeAndre Liggins Wednesday as well. Houston also acquired Darrun Hilliard from the Detroit Pistons, making the final deal look like this:
Though Paul was expected to exercise his early termination option and join unrestricted free agency this summer, Wojnarowski reports he will be opting in for the final year of his contract, worth $24.3 million.
This will cost him $11 million next season, but it allows the Rockets to trade for one of the five greatest point guards of all-time, pairing him with an MVP finalist in a star-studded backcourt.
Houston also avoids messier sign-and-trade scenarios, doesn’t have to worry about paying extra for CP3 this summer and now has his Bird Rights to work with next summer in free agency. Instead of paying out a max contract that would’ve started at $34 million, the Rockets will maintain their flexibility to continue making moves this summer.
Paul's Bird rights go with him in the trade. Could be eligible to re-sign with the Rockets in the summer of 2018 for 5-years, about $205 mm
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) June 28, 2017
The Clippers, meanwhile, will get a decent return for a player who could’ve left for nothing, most likely prompting a rebuild rather than overspending on a core that could not realistically challenge the heavy-hitters in the West anymore.
According to USA TODAY‘s Sam Amick, the 2018 first-rounder heading L.A.’s way will be top-three protected.
The 2018 first that Houston sends to the Clippers is top three protected, I'm told.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) June 28, 2017
To sort it out how both sides will fare in this unexpected deal, here’s a look at their NBA Trade Grades.