This is not a drill. The Rockets, after losing for a second year in a row to the Warriors in the NBA Playoffs (this time in 6 games and without Kevin Durant) have made their entire roster available for trade. The only major exception to this seems to be James Harden. Woj said the possibility of him being traded is “extremely limited”. This includes both Chris Paul and Clint Capela.
While the news at first is a little shocking, after a few seconds of thought, this should really come as no surprise. For two years in a row now, the Rockets have fell short of their goal to beat the Warriors and make it to the NBA Finals. They seemed like a team primed to do it too this year. They had tons of switchable wing defenders and one of the best isolation players in James Harden. Additionally Chris Paul provided the necessary leadership that Harden couldn’t as the team made a run to a title.
Now after two years of failure and a loss to a Durant-less Warriors, the Rockets understand they may not have what it takes. Couple this with the fact that Paul is slotted to make $124 million over the next 3 years at the age of 34 and I would want to unload him as soon as possible as well.
Capela’s availability is bit more surprising since he is so young still and they just gave him a big extension last offseason (5 years, $90 million). Yes, the Warriors basically made him unplayable in the 4th quarter during the playoffs but they do that to basically every center they face. He wasn’t necessarily their problem and he provided reliable defense for a team that struggled to play good defense consistently besides PJ Tucker.
The Rockets look like they are heading towards a rebuild in the next year or two unless they think they can salvage some obtain some good assets in exchange for CP3 and Capela. I just don’t know many teams who would want to take on either of these players’ massive contracts, especially with how many free agents are available this summer.
Perhaps Houston could sucker the Lakers or a borderline contender into trading for Chris Paul with the belief he can push your team over the edge. My big hesitation though, besides the financial cost, is Paul’s health.
Here are the amount of games Chris Paul has played the past 3 seasons: 61, 58, and 58.
His inability this year to stay healthy forced James Harden into hero ball mode (which was fun to watch) for most of the season and it ultimately may have cost them one of the top playoff seeds. That proved crucial this year as the Rockets had to then play the Warriors in the second round instead of the Conference Finals. CP3 also infamously injured his hamstring in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals last year and was unable to play in Games 6 and 7. This may have also cost the Rockets a chance at a title. Couple these injuries with Steph Curry’s ability to constantly run circles around Paul on offense and the Rockets are stuck in a really tough position with Chris Paul.
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His health has been a major concern for a few years now and basketball history has not been kind to point guards as they age. Their speed and athleticism vanish, and they don’t have the height very often to make up for it.
While CP3 is a concern for the Rockets, I think they have many more major issues to address. D’Antoni is at odds with Daryl Morey over contract terms and the Rockets also let go of their defensive guru Jeff Bzdelik 11 days ago. Last year the Rockets were 18th in defensive rating (110.1) after being 7th the year before (105.6). In their most recent playoff run, the Rocket’s defense only improved marginally (107.3).
The Rockets have a myriad of issues to address before next season begins. From James Harden’s playoff struggles, to CP3’s injuries, to coaching vacancies, the Rockets will need to fix a lot in order to remain competitive in the West next year.
Then again though, maybe they can just wait it out and hope Kevin Durant leaves Golden State. If he does, then all of the sudden there’s more parity in the league and the Rockets’ roster may be built to contend for the title again. It is certainly a hope for Rockets’ fans, but I don’t think you can bank all of your hopes on that happening given the fact that even if KD leaves, the rest of the West will still get better.
Also the Rockets owe $120 million in salaries next season. The NBA salary cap is currently only $110 million...
***Stats and contract information obtained from NBA.com and Basketball-reference.com
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