Jimmy got to be smart and choose houston, I mean if he really wants that ring, or he just looking to be the main guy somewhere, and possibly a chance to make a 8th seed appearence with the team they got as he will be the main star. Heat will probably wow him. Houston better bring Chris to that meeting, and James, clyde and Dream to set down with butler to get him motivated. Plus its his home town, he can always fly to miami and party after games lol.
Harden wanted cp3 now we in cap hell ....harden recruiting has pretty much backfired his choice in players is questionable could have went after PG-13 instead of aging Paul
Who, exactly, did Houston have to offer for PG that was anywhere close to Victor Oladipo? Domantas Sabonis has turned into a really good player, too (and was a lottery pick in the previous year's draft at the time).
At the time Eric Gordon, coming off winning 6th man and 3pt championship was right there with an under-performing Dipo. My guess is Rockets offered EG+FRP and OKC offered Dipo+Domo and that got it done. If the Rockets offered EG+CC.....that might have gotten PG. I don't think Morey went *all in* on that trade (and probably regrets it) but he didn't go all in because PG was a flight risk. And Presti was WILLING to take the risk because of RW potentially leaving.
This is how i see it too, nobody put out there his best possible offer cause everyone felt like PG was going to be in L.A in few months anyway, i wonder if without that risk Morey would've throw in multiple 1st rounders like he did for Butler. Presti like you said had Westbrook expiring and at the time Oladipo was considered a bad contract, swapping him for PG was a win/win situation for Presti, if George was going to resign great, if he was going to bolt he would've dumped a bad contract in the process, at the cost of Sabonis, who was probably what gave OKC the advantage in the trade there, he had obviously more value than one or even two of our picks i think.
Chris Paul was fantastic in 17/18 and the Rockets were the best team in the NBA. If he makes it through game 5 we have a championship. Timing and luck are a massive part of winning a ring and in team building. This era may or may not pan out but the thought process was shrewd even if the end goal has so far been just short.
Gordon in Houston was slightly better than Oladipo in Oklahoma City, yes. That doesn't mean that Indiana had that same valuation when it came to who would be the best fit as a lead guard in their system. It also helps that Oladipo is 3.5 years younger than EG, which made him a better fit for a Pacers squad looking to retool after trading their star player. Same with Sabonis, who was 12 months removed from being a lottery pick.