With Suns point guard Chris Paul one game away from an NBA Finals appearance as of this writing, the Rockets‘ 2019 offseason trade of Paul has not aged well, writes Rahat Huq of the Houston Chronicle.
The deal sent Paul, two pick swaps and two future draft selections to the Thunder in exchange for Russell Westbrook, who lasted just one season in Houston before the team sent him to the Wizards for the oft-injured John Wall. Paul was sent to the Suns during the 2020 offseason.
Paul has been healthier during his two All-Star seasons following the deal than he was in Houston, Huq observes. The 2021 All-NBA Second-Teamer has appeared in 140 out of 144 possible regular season contests since being moved.
Huq opines that the fact that the Rockets, under the stewardship of then-team president Daryl Morey, felt compelled to trade picks to get off of Paul’s contract is especially frustrating now that Houston is in full rebuilding mode. At least the Rockets have the No. 2 selection in what looks to be an exciting 2021 draft.
Paul has a $44.2MM player option for the 2021/22 season, but it is anticipated that he may opt for a longer-term deal with more guaranteed years this summer.
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Free agent Mavericks big man Nicolò Melli is hoping to stick around in the NBA this summer, writes Aris Barkas of Eurohoops. Barkas writes that Melli may need to continue his career in Europe, where the 30-year-old vet last played during the 2018/19 season. He made his NBA debut with the Pelicans for the 2019/20 season. Melli was part of the deal that sent J.J. Redick to the Mavericks from New Orleans during the March trade deadline.
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has indicated that assistant general manager Keith Grant, the club’s longtime salary cap expert, will remain with Dallas under new GM Nico Harrison, tweets Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News.
- After 2018 lottery picks Trae Young and Deandre Ayton stepped up to help the the Hawks and the Suns reach their respective conference finals this year, the Grizzlies should be encouraged that their young core, led by 2019 No. 2 pick Ja Morant and 2018 No. 4 selection Jaren Jackson Jr., can follow suit, writes Evan Barnes of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Provided Jackson can return to Memphis healthy, Barnes believes the club can progress deeper into the postseason soon.
Chris Paul clearly threw himself into Beverley who was trying to run around a screen, of course the “officials” called a flagrant foul on Beverley. Terrible call.
WallyWood you need some cheese to go with that Whine. How many did they miss going the other way? Several
Then Johnson elbows Paul George in the face and they don’t even bother checking it. If Beverley had done that they would have.
I do agree with you on Beverly/George
Paul George got almost every call in this series. Quit crying.
all of this may be true, but no way the Suns should lose by 10+ on their own home court in an elimination game!
That was a really hard and risky fall and I doubt he did that to himself intentionally. CP3 flops a lot but that was a reckless foul by Beverly and the flagrant call was appropriate. The least he could have done was keep Paul from falling once he ran into him.
How much of that trade is on Morey though? Wasn’t that move made to appease Harden?
Who was in charge of appeasing Harden?
All of it. Money one of the most over rated GMs ever. He belongs with Doc Rivers!
Morey only did what he was told to do. Blame Harden and Tillman for the trade.
I guess you can take that approach but executives build the team in my eyes. That’s why Jerry West gets respect for teaching Kobe to play with Shaq. Morey folded to his star and look where it got him.
Tillman has owned the team for a few years. Morey (and Harden) are to blame.
None of it. Tillman Fertita mandated the trades.
To appease Harden.
Morey was TP, so he didn’t need to comply, and he negotiated the components of the deals.
But Harden orchestrated the trade for CP3 (because he decided he wanted to play with CP3). Then the trade of CP3 for RW (because he decided he no longer wanted to play with CP3, but that he in fact loved RW). Then the trade of RW (because he decided he didn’t love RW after all). Then the trade of himself (because the organization couldn’t put the right players around him). Wanting no part of any organization dumb enough to listen to him.
That’s how it looked, but nobody really came out and said that Harden jerked around the franchise more than any other has.
There’s the idea that Lebron jerked the Cavs around, but people leave Cleveland all the time. I have. You don’t hate someone for eluding your grasp unless you’re Pat Riley. What Harden did though… Why is he Not hated in Houston.
He is. The fan base gives him a break because we hate our owner more than him.
Nobody in Houston cares about Harden,
@x% – I don’t know if he is or isn’t hated, but the other personalities involved in the timeline did create lots of other scapegoats. Both owners, the GM, the HC and the co-stars. Alexander, Fertita, Morey and MDA. With that lineup around me, I’m pretty sure I could always come up with multiple narratives in which I’m blameless.
Agree with OP and DX but will add this:
Paul and Harden had a mutual dislike of one another, and Paul’s value around the league was at an all time low. Morey or not, whoever was going to trade Paul, they weren’t trading that contract without attaching picks, period. So getting a guy who was at the time considered the better player (and was the younger player), in theory, was at least a decent proposition. Costly, but reasonable at the time.
Of course then Westbrook breaks down, also bumps heads with Harden, then they flip for Wall, who’s even worse, and on the other side Paul totally revives his career.
But the counter-factual is if Morey doesn’t move Paul that summer then, in all likelihood, CP3 continues to flounder in Houston, still being considered washed up and a negative value, the albatross around Harden’s neck.
Morey might make a similar deal this summer, attaching picks to Simmons for something. And in two years we might be discussing the All NBA point center Ben Simmons and how he’s flourished since Philly dumped him with picks for D’Angelo Russell or CJ McCollum.
As a Mavs fan Melli was actually pretty solid for us brought a lot of energy on defense. Didn’t really shoot the ball that well but he will hopefully gain more confidence and go back to shooting as he used to be very good when he had his confidence. Hope we can resign him on the minimum.
3 yrs for $75M – win win for Paul and Suns.
This implies that Paul wont be able to get a two 20 mil deal next summer, cuz he can just pick up his 44 mil option this summer
3/105 (if he opts out)
Paul is done after this year, that tank is going to be gone come opening day. He is giving his all because this is his last hurrah. Next contract is a Kobe/Reward contract. If he doesn’t opt-in he is an idiot.
If the Suns win it, maybe.
But then some team will offer a contract, so no.
And then he could keep his union-boss job.
He is. The fan base gives him a break because we hate our owner more than him.
Trading Paul away was bad but signing him to that huge deal in the first place was also bad. He’s a solid PG but was never worth that kind of money or hype.
Plus it was a poor choice of duo. Elite scorers like Harden, Curry, Thompson, Durant, etc don’t need someone else to handle and distribute the ball for them, so you’re just wasting talent, money, and efficiency when you give them that anyway.
@reflect: yeah which is exactly why Kyrie Irving is so highly valued…and Curry is an actual PG so I think you are reaching a bit there too. They had the Warriors – one of the best. if not best, team ever assembled down 3-2 and lost because Paul got hurt. That basically invalidates your entire comment
Both Irving and Curry are premiere scorers. Chris Paul is not a premiere scorer, he’s good because of his passing.