Is Chris Paul a safe investment..no. Is Chris Paul gonna be worth the money in a few years...no. Will Chris Paul win us a title..probably not. Should we max out Chris Paul..yes, and it's not really debatable. It's a risk you have to assume. There are maybe 10-15 players that can make a bad team a good team singlehandedly, and that's probably generous. Chris Paul is one of them, and he's already here. James Harden isn't getting any younger, we can't just keep kicking the can down the road trying new things. Chris Paul is plan A, and thanks to Durant's b**** ass we are still unlikely to win a title, but we are close...really close. We literally need to upset or have upset one team and we can win it all. That sounds like a defeatist attitude, but it's the reality with the Warriors right now. There is no plan B that is gonna get us closer, even as risky as he is, as Chris Paul does if healthy.
Embiid really has crazy potential but the potential of having CP3 & Harden is crazy as well. CP3 might not be young and has injury history, but Embiid’s injury history is comparable to Oden which is really scary.
I didn't realize Augustin salary was 7.2 M. It will be harder to get him. I remember Codman mentioning that the Rockets were interested in Elfrid Payton at one time. He is an RFA at 3.3 M. Will the Magic trade him instead of giving him a big contract? He could prove to be a decent insurance PG. CP could be fresh for the playoffs.
Two things: 1. The very existence of a max, combined with the fact that you can put only 5 players on the court at one time, means that if you acquire one of the league's best players, you're already getting him at a discount. 2. Yes, propensity to injury might drop a max player's value below max. But after watching last night's ballhandling and playmaking ****show: If Chris Paul, with his current injury, were sitting on somebody else's roster right now, available for trade, I would be begging the Rockets to trade for him.
Chris Paul is 32 years old. He has already lost a little bit, but his style of game should age very well. I could see him playing at a high level at 34-35 years old. The issue is that he hasn't ever been an ironman and with age, will he be a guy that only plays 50 games a season? If so is that acceptable? I think the Rockets still do everything they can do to sign him. This year, in a season where Paul has battled injuries and a new system, Paul did everything the Rockets needed. In only 30 minutes a game Paul shot 48/41/90 for a EFG of 58% ............. that is not good, that is elite, only a handful of players in the entire NBA do that, and those players are usually not good defenders and true point guards. He also was good for 17 points, 9 assists and nearly 6 rebounds. He had a nearly 4:1 assist to turnover ratio and over 2 steals a game. Essentially his turnovers are neutralized by his steals. He also was an elite defender. Essentially the only thing that he didn't do well was be able to play 35 minutes a night and be a volume scorer. The Rockets never expected that though. I think the Rockets should sign him and get him down under 30 minutes a night and let him sit out back to backs. That means the Rockets need to get a quality back up point guard though.
We really don't even need a quality 3rd PG, just a tolerable one who can run an offense for 10 damn minutes on occasion. You can't have a complete offensive zero or non distributor running point. EG is a slasher, not a playmaker, and Weber doesn't seem to have any offensive skill whatsoever.
If Paul is going to only play 50-60 games a year, then the Rockets need a solid third point guard. As you said, EG is a slasher and scorer, but not a creator. Harden is a creator but the Rockets would be served well having someone else that can create so he can play off ball and there is someone else to play those 12-15 minutes Harden rests when the Rockets don't have Paul. I think we are saying the same thing. They don't need an elite bench point guard; but someone that protects the ball and can hit open 3's.
Honestly overly Optimistically........ either the Rockets win this year or We get LeBron Rocket River #FingersCrossed
Jamaal Franklin Kay Felder Randy Foye Leandro Barbosa Morey just needs to pick one already. And while he's at it needs to pick up another versatile forward too. Anthony Randolph Raphaiel Putney Perry Jones JSmoove Need more D minded role players who can handle and/or score.
I hate when people use examples like that... Even Noah knows he's not worth anything close to the money he's making. Some ridiculous contract like that always exists, it's not justification for someone else making money. CP3 is worth "Noah money" these days, but the "max" for a player his age is like 45 mil or something IIRC. Nobody is going to pay him that. If they do, they're going to regret it immediately. Plus, Paul probably wants to try to form a superteam here, and he knows that can't happen if he asks for the max. ... Although ultimately, I think the length of the contract is just as important of a consideration as the per-year price.
I suspect you are right. If the Rockets want to stretch Anderson or trade Gordon and have some breathing room to add another elite player, Paul is likely to take less money to make it happen, but his leverage is wanting a long term contract at less money per season. I think Paul is back with the Rockets as long as the team doesn't explode the rest of the season.
There are maybe 4-5 players that can drag you single handedly to 50 wins. Durant, Lebron, CP3 and Harden. Maybe Steph but he’s never done it without Dray and Klay. CP3 is a must max. Lebron is coming if he wants a Championship. If he wants max dollars then he can resign in Cleveland or wherever and enjoy his twilight years fizzling our in the playoffs.
We definitely need a quality 3rd point guard. From what I've seen through last night, we have a 1 who's "job" is to crack jokes in the locker room as a "friend of the stars" (Brown), not good enough for MDA to play, unless he's desperate, apparently, and a very young peacock running around the court passing up shots and trying not to embarrass himself. The "peacock" might have potential, I'm openminded about that (and I really could care less about how he looks, but rather how he performs), but if we are really going to contend we're taking an awful chance. CP3 is a brilliant player, but is already on track to miss 2 months during the first half of the season. Harden is an iron man, but when Paul is also playing we are damn near transformed as a team. A young point isn't going to be comparable to Chris, and to expect that is unfair, but he needs to be an adequate replacement that can take over backup duties at least similar to the way Paul plays. I haven't seen a 3rd point who is close to providing that. Not yet. Perhaps Morey has a deadline deal in mind to solve what I see as a problem going forward. I hope so.
Isn't one of the biggest knocks of Payton's game, his inability to shoot? Last I checked, people compared him to Rondo and Rubio - great PG skills, but is completely mediocre when left open.
That is true, but it would be a heck lot better than Weber. The Rockets don't need to match his RFA rights either.
If the Rockets don't win a chip this year, which is likely, then let's hope GSW runs through Cleveland. This way Lebron knows that if he wants to ever win another ring again his only choice is Houston.
I really wish CP can convince Lebron to come to Houston and both CP and Lebron take a paycut! Wishful thinking.
