The Houston Rockets have been off for nearly a month now and things are going to start heating up as we head toward the draft and eventually free agency starting July 1.
As with any off season withHouston Rocketsgeneral manager Daryl Morey at the helm, expect the franchise to be quite active throughout. Morey has the mantra of never being satisfied with the product that he has and feels there’s always room for improvement.
To be honest, that’s the way all general managers should feel. They shouldn’t settle — but aim for the exosphere and hope for the best. Did anybody think that we’d be able to landRyan Anderson,Eric GordonandNene Hilarioto not only make a valuable contribution to a successful 55-win season but to rejuvenate their careers as well?
Other than Houston Rockets faithful, there weren’t many out there that thought the Houston Rockets were going to have the type of remarkable season that they had. But it happened and we made a lot of experts eat crow as there was no precipitous drop-off but continuity of getting the “W’s” on a regular basis.
With that being said, don’t ever underestimate the talent of Morey and his “go-getter” mentality to build this team into a championship contender.
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But here were are, two weeks away from free agency opening and we have our latest nugget on the rumor mill.
What’s going on?
According to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, superstar point guardChris Paulwill reportedly visit the Rockets while doing his rounds with the San Antonio Spurs and the Denver Nuggets. This is an intriguing development because I’ve actually thought how this team would look with CP3 in Rockets Red. Can he andJames Hardenco-exist? Absolutely. But will it happen? Likely not.
For starters, it’s no secret that Paul is being wooed by the Spurs and there going to clear the racks to ensure he gets the royal treatment when he visits Alamo City. He’d be a nice fit with them as their point guard options could be limited with the uncertainty ofTony Parker‘s health moving forward and the not-so-ready look ofPatty Millsrunning the offense. Their needs are clear.
But how about ours?By moving Harden to the “points” guard role — aMike D’Antonispecial — he had the most prolific season of his career, one that’s on the cusp of being something great and a lot that’s still unwritten as we speak. WithPatrick Beverleybeing able to play alongside Harden with incredible lockstep, there’s no need to bring in a blockbuster guard but one that can backup and get the job done.
This is Harden’s team — whether you like or not — and bringing Paul in would cause him to defer and I’m not sure that’s something the Beard wants to do. But it terms of offensive productivity, this team would be off the charts as far as the numbers. But with the salary cap expected to only increase modestly from$94.1 millionto$101 millionfor 2017-18, the team would not be able to sign him outright.
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The Rockets, even if they rid themselves of the contracts of Nene,Bobby BrownandTroy Williams, they’d have close to $20 million to shop with. That’s not going to be enough for Paul, who according to Turner, is eligible to receive the max of afive-yeardeal worth$205 millionwith the Los Angeles Clippers but only four-years, $152M with any other team. With an annual salary that’s within the range of about$40Mper, that’s just not going to happen in H-Town. It’s insane how the salary cap has escalated!
The Clips would have to facilitate a sign-and-trade to make it happen and you’d have to include Anderson, Gordon andTrevor Arizajust to make the deal work. Do you see what I mean? It’s not happening ya’ll and I honestly think Paul is testing the market and then file them with the Clippers. But it makes it nice to dream for a bit as far as how things would look around here with him around.
You better believe Morey is going to make a hell of a sales pitch and make an offer he can’t refuse.HE WILL SWING FOR THE FENCES.
Next: What the Rockets need to compete with the Warriors
Now let’s snap back to reality.
Paul, 32, averaged18.1 points and 9.2 assistsoff47.6 percentshooting from the field and a41.1 percentclip from behind-the-arc through61 gamesin 2016-17.
Go Rockets.
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