NBA Trade Grades: Rockets land Chris Paul from Clippers

Houston Rockets

Daryl Morey strikes again.

Landing Chris Paul in free agency would have been a coup by itself, but with the Point God opting into the final year of his contract, the Rockets were able to save precious cap space, trade for one of the best facilitators and game managers the NBA has ever seen and still have the assets to pull off more moves for star talent.

According to Wojnarowski, Paul and Harden were intrigued by the prospect of playing together and sharing ball-handling duties, working together to find a way to make this deal happen. ESPN‘s Zach Lowe added that Paul’s close friendship with Trevor Ariza was another potential factor in his decision to team up with the Rockets.

Whatever the case, all the Rockets had to give up to create one of the league’s best backcourts was Beverley (a great defender/three-point shooter who will be replaced by a similarly great defender/three-point shooter, only with more playmaking); Lou Will (a sixth man who was a luxury, but non-essential behind Eric Gordon); Dekker (a nice young piece, but more than worth it for CP3); Harrell (an admittedly tough piece to give up alongside Dekker, but expendable nevertheless) and a 2018 first-rounder (which is somehow top-three protected).

To be fair, there are concerns about how this backcourt pairing will work. Harden and Paul are two of the NBA’s most ball-dominant players, which makes sense since they’re also two of the game’s elite playmakers and facilitators.

Harden led the league in assists at 11.2 per game last year, while CP3 finished fourth at 9.2 per game. After watching the Beard take on full-time point guard duties and put together the best season of his career that was more than deserving of MVP honors, it’s a bit odd to see the Rockets trade for another ball-dominant point guard.

That being said, there’s too much playmaking and otherworldly basketball IQ here for this to NOT work. There will be an adjustment period, but this move may have just bumped Houston past the San Antonio Spurs as the greatest threat to the Golden State Warriors out West.

The best part is the Rockets probably aren’t done making moves. They were able to keep Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon out of this deal, making them potential trade chips if they want to either swing a trade for Paul George, or try to free up cap space for star free agents like Gordon Hayward, Blake Griffin or Paul Millsap.

Clutch City fans shouldn’t get too far ahead of themselves, but even if this is all the Rockets pull off this summer, they acquired CP3’s Bird Rights since he opted in for the final year of his contract. That means that if this backcourt works out, it could work out for awhile, since Houston could offer him a five-year, $200 million-plus deal in free agency next summer.

According to NBA cap guru Nate Duncan, Paul could also choose to sign a four-year, $150 million extension ahead of time if he takes his full 15 percent trade kicker bonus. The Rockets also maintain flexibility for other free agency moves this summer, including their $8.4 million mid-level exception:

The last time the Houston Rockets paired a supposed star playmaker with Harden in the backcourt, Houston’s season went up in flames. But Chris Paul is no Ty Lawson, and he doesn’t carry that kind of off-court baggage with him either.

Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far

Morey has once again proved himself as one of the NBA’s riskiest gamblers, but it could pay off in a big way — especially since the Rockets probably aren’t done this summer.

Grade: A-