After the surprising news that the Knicks were going to dump Phil Jackson not long after guaranteeing his final two years at $24 million, the NBA continued the process of losing its mind with another huge Woj bomb:
Paul, 32, agreed to opt in to the final year of his $24.2 million contract, clearing the way for the Clippers to execute a trade with the Rockets and bring back assets for Paul, league sources said.
The Rockets will send the Clippers a package that includes guards Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams, forward Sam Dekker and a 2018 first-round pick (protected Nos. 1-3), league sources told The Vertical. There are smaller parts to the deal, including non-guaranteed contracts, league sources said.
According to Woj, Paul went to the Clippers and told them he was leaving for Houston, so Doc Rivers and Jerry West got what they could out of the situation.
There is still a question now if the Rockets will further clear cap space so they can renegotiate and extend Paul, or if they’ll hold onto guys like Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon and just re-sign Paul with the Bird rights (which transfer in a trade, allowing the Rockets to exceed the cap to re-sign him).
There are some questions being raised about how they fit together….
https://twitter.com/Pflanns/status/880089189857054722
There is some validity to that, but I don’t doubt the ability of two really good players to figure out how to share and move the ball. One thing Paul does is add a mid-range aspect to the Rockets offense which completely eschewed that spot on the floor.
Yes, I know it’s all about 3’s and layups, but if you refuse to keep the defense honest, you lose the ability to get those layups as teams sag way back. Chris Paul operating in the 15-20 foot area forces teams to step up and opens up back-door cuts and passing lanes for shooters.
Will the Rockets be good enough to challenge the Warriors? Probably not, but they are certainly much more dangerous and probably the second-best team in the West right now.
Of course, this has a potentially big implication for the Celtics. They own the Clippers pick in 2019, but that’s protected 1-14 for that year and the next. If the Celtics don’t get a first round pick by 2020, the Celtics get a 2022 second rounder. If Paul’s departure from LA triggers a rebuild, then the Clippers pick might be worthless in trade negotiations.
And then there’s the question of Blake Griffin. Is he going to stick around now that his point guard is gone? Does that make him more motivated to leave? Will Boston go for him instead of Hayward?
I told you to watch what Houston was doing… now they’ve triggered an avalanche that could shape July’s moves.
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