Kevin Durant was just as surprised as you were when the Houston Rockets traded for Chris Paul.
Well, almost.
During his latest appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Durant was asked about his reaction to the mega-deal that caught the NBA off-guard just before free agency got underway, and his response, as it turns out, probably doesn’t vary from what any of us were thinking at the time (h/t CSN Bay Area):
I’m not surprised by anything, but it was kind of like ‘Hmm. Damn, that’s a smart move. I wouldn’t think anybody would be that smart to pull that off.’ I think it was a great move. You put two guys together that are crafty with the ball, they’re going to get everybody shots and they going to get each other shots. It was a ballsy move to pull off by [Rockets GM Daryl] Morey. I don’t think anybody would have thought to do that
Durant makes a good, understated point at the end. The way Morey and the Rockets essentially amassed so many non-guaranteed contracts to help make the trade work was a stroke of genius that bordered on unprecedented.
Granted, none of this is possible unless Paul wants to badly play with James Harden. The fit between the two guards is, in a vacuum, quite weird. Harden is working off his first full campaign as a point guard and has been more ball-dominant than not since arriving in Houston, while Paul himself has never once ceded to touches or possession control to anyone.
Stark concessions are inevitable, which always opens the door for some learning-curve warts. But the two should be fine, even if it takes a little time. Paul has shot nearly 44 percent on catch-and-shoot triples since 2013-14, according to NBA.com. Playing off the ball more will be an adjustment for him, but the fact that he wanted to be here, on the Rockets, alongside Harden, suggests he’ll adapt in whatever way is ultimately needed.
So, yeah, Durant is right: This was a smart move.
