Damn I like Chris Paul and all but I’m glad the owner stepped in here, as Cyber suggests. I’m not sure how anyone could have any confidence we were going to get the best of whatever CP3 has left in the tank over the next 2 years of that whopping contract. Russell Westbrook is in his prime. End of story for me.
Assuming this is true which I honestly can see as being true~ big picture I can't fault either party 1. The Rockets honored their word by massively overpaying Chris Paul when no other team would have. Yes, the prior year Paul could have been massively overpaid for even more money by the Clippers, however thats besides the point- the point being that the Rockets could have easily re-negged like others have done such as Boozer or even recently Marcus Morris to the Spurs. The Rockets did not re-neg on it's un-obligated commitment to an obscene amount of money and cap room towards someone who was obviously no longer worth it. 2. The Rockets were losing early in the season. Chris Paul got injured, James Harden re-structured our team strategy to accommodate him being out. Chris Paul was out for a long time, the Rockets were winning and had rhythm with the new James Harden strategy.. at this point in the year (towards the end) you don't mess with the recipe.. it's too late in the game (season) to mess with the recipe & style of play. 3. It's obvious Morey lied about the initial desire from the get-go towards keeping Paul. He played both hands. Morey does this specifically in trade-talks and I'm not a big fan. However, everyone knew we would easily trade Paul if it was required to land Butler.. No one predicted Westbrook would become available. Remember, ANYONE can be traded. There were even earlier rumors the Lakers should go ahead and try to trade Lebron James if they weren't going to land someone like the Brow.
The Rockets were playing Harden and Paul dominantly ISO ball oriented style the year before. The style was the same but except for the fact paul looked slower and was fat as as Oprah coming into the season.He no longer could play ISO ball effectively so he started pouting.
The only interesting bit here is supposedly Harden requesting to cut Melo without CP3’s knowledge and that they went away from the way they were going to play to win. Both were necessary and it probably was CP3 more than anyone else who wanted Melo.
This is what happens when you give the keys to the organization to one player. James Harden is an amazing player, but the Rockets built this monster over the years. They never held Harden accountable for his awful playoff no-shows (game 6 vs San Antonio and game 3 in the 2015 Western Conference Finals versus Golden State when the Rockets lost by nearly 40 points) and instead of having the balls to demand he give more effort when the ball isn’t in his hands, they let him do what he wants. Whether James Harden is willing to admit it or not, a demanding, no nonsense player like Chris Paul was exactly what he needed to grow up and become a complete player. It’s a major reason why his defense has made a complete 180 in the last two years, and there weren’t any no shows in either of the last two playoff runs. Chris Paul made James Harden better.
You rarely get two chances in life to achieve your dream. Do-overs are rare. But that's what CP3 got. He had two legit chances to win a championship. It didn't work out. It's not all on him, but he owns part of that failure. Next man up!
Funny thing is there is a bunch of talk about OKC buying him out, I just don't see it. If he wanted to leave money on the table to win he should have took less to begin with.
The Clippers tried Paul's way and it never got them out of the 2nd round and they choked away a 3-1 lead. Why you acting like Paul has had greater successes?
The Thunder aren’t trading Chris Paul for a package centered around Danny Green. If they can’t get a young player they like or first-round pick back, they’ll simply hold him.
I honestly I don't have any problems whatsoever with Harden making power moves and deciding the fate of Carmelo Anthony or Chris Paul. After all, Harden's the superstar MVP player of this franchise and the rest were brought in to specifically help him. He should have final say on who he wants as his running-mate. Plus, this is so tame compared the immense power LeGm LeBron has wielded throughout his career. Even guys like Kawhi are now armchair GMs able to hold entire cities hostage in free agency and then make a power move to pluck Paul George away from the Thunder at midnight with an ultimatum. For better or worse, the NBA is now all about the players who have all the leverage under the current CBA. Harden is only exercising his power like the rest of them.
They played a lot of iso ball but there were still set plays for EG. They were simple sets too, but they seemed to get away from them more often last year while everybody just stood and watched. I already mentioned in my post that CP was going downhill but hes still a top disher and decision maker. I know why Harden went super saiyan, its cause he had to, but then that whole scoring streak started and he was just chasing numbers nearing the end of it.
would be very convenient if those of you that keep spouting this garbage realized taking less would have literally no effect on our ability to add more talent
I think what the OP describes is how it went down. Makes the most sense to me, from what all I’ve heard so far.
I dont feel good about CP3 at age 33 demanding a 40 mil a year contract that made us a watered down team then he commenced to suck and be injured all year then tried the blame the only guy helping us. No thanks good bye to that drama queen.
