The Houston Rockets opened up 2018 NBA free agency by agreeing to re-sign their starting point guard, Chris Paul. Here is why this was a necessary move.
The Houston Rockets wasted no time in locking up their franchise point guard on a long-term deal. Chris Paul reached an agreement with the Rockets on July 1 to return on a four-year, $160 million max contract, per ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski.
For Paul and the rest of his Houston teammates, this ensures that the team has a point guard in place to continue its pursuit of the Golden State Warriors dynasty atop the Western Conference.
Paul is a nine-time All-Star, nine-time All-NBA team member, and took home the 2005-06 Rookie of the Year honors as a member of the New Orleans Hornets. Since then, Paul has led the league in assists per game four times and led the league in steals per game six times.
CP3 was able to suit up for 58 games this season for the Rockets, averaging 18.6 points, 7.9 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. The team at one point won 14 consecutive games with Paul in the lineup, so he was clearly a huge reason the team finished the season with the 1-seed in the Western Conference.
Houston Rockets management clearly saw the value that Paul brought to the team alongside reigning MVP James Harden, so it was an easy decision to pay him enough to bring him back into the fold despite his age and injury history. A four-year max is quite a hefty deal, but here are three reasons why this was a necessary evil.