Houston gambled their future for a shot at immediate glory when they acquired Chris Paul.
They did so with the knowledge that they would have to sign him to a monstrous contract the following year.
Well, we’re just a quarter of the way into that four-year, $160 million deal and already Woj is reporting the Rockets have made Paul available for trade.
This follows reports that Paul and Harden didn’t see eye-to-eye at times last season, culminating in a highly publicised verbal altercation after Houston had their season hijacked by Golden State in the second round.
No one knows how much of today’s report is about the tension between Paul and Harden, how much is about Paul’s bloated contract, and how much stems from a desire to shake things up.
But whatever the motive, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey was still right to trade for Paul in the first place.
Star power is the single most important ingredient in the championship recipe, and we are living in an era where one star is never enough.
Sometimes to give yourself a chance of winning it all, you have to risk it all.
Just ask the Toronto Raptors.
And these Rockets came incredibly close to beating the greatest team since Jordan’s Bulls.
No one should begrudge the Rockets for paying through the nose for Paul.
Trading for him was a risk they had to take.
Today’s news
DeMar DeRozan let Kyle Lowry and the Raptors know he’s happy for them via text. For DeRozan, these Finals will be presumably be like seeing the girl who dumped you on her wedding day.
Raptors president Masai Ujiri believes Kawhi Leonard is the best two-way player in the NBA and won’t hear otherwise.
DeMarcus Cousins remains “questionable” for Game 1, but Steve Kerr wouldn’t rule out the possibility that he could be active before tip-off.
47 US states are rooting for the Raptors in the Finals, according to geotagged Twitter data.
Klay Thompson wanted to make an All-NBA team “so badly”, and it wasn’t just about the money.
David Griffin finally got his meeting with Anthony Davis.
Next game
Warriors at Raptors, NBA Finals Game 1
Thursday 9pm (USA) / Friday 11am (AUS)
USA times: ET / Australian times: AEST
Merch
‘Kawhi not’ hats now available in the Basketball Forever store!
