There may be some legs to the Houston Rockets’ chances of poaching Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers.
Serious ones.
According to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, the Rockets have emerged as a legitimate threat to sign Paul, a courtship that is being led by none other than James Harden:
The Houston Rockets have emerged as increasingly serious threats in the chase for soon-to-be free agent Chris Paul, according to league sources.
The Rockets still have work to do in terms of clearing sufficient salary-cap space to make a representative offer for Paul, but sources said that Houston star James Harden has been advocating hard in favor of the Paul pursuit and has made his interest in teaming with the LA Clippers‘ All-Star known directly to the point guard.
Though the Rockets must clear close to $25 million in cap space before they can sign Paul, it’s a big deal that Harden is on board with the pursuit. Landing Paul would take the ball out of his hands more often. Both he and Paul have the shooting chops to play away from the action, but sacrificing touches isn’t some no-brainer when they’re so accustomed to dominating the rock.
This scenario, of course, remains a long shot. The Rockets not only need to overcome their cap issues and the Clippers’ ability to offer Paul a fifth year, but they also have to contend with the San Antonio Spurs. That’s a lot of hurdles to clear, and there’s always the chance Paul’s camp is currently using them for leverage (though what leverage he actually needs isn’t quite clear; perhaps he’s trying to coax a no-trade clause out of the Clippers).
Still, the pursuit is worth a shot—particularly when Harden, an MVP candidate, is prepared to roll out the welcome mat.
