Chris Paul to the Rockets

[Galloisdaman]

All the other stuff aside CP is already 33 years old. The Rockets would be smart to see if there was any possible way to sign Paul to a shorter deal or a deal with some option years.

He just signed a 4 year deal this past summer didn't he?

Only way to get rid of that would be someone willing to take that contract on when he'll be making way over $40 million when he's 36 and 37.

I did not realize he already signed a new deal. I thought he was a upcoming FA. My bad. Sorry.

[esqtvd]

All the other stuff aside CP is already 33 years old. The Rockets would be smart to see if there was any possible way to sign Paul to a shorter deal or a deal with some option years.

He just signed a 4 year deal this past summer didn't he?

Only way to get rid of that would be someone willing to take that contract on when he'll be making way over $40 million when he's 36 and 37.

I did not realize he already signed a new deal. I thought he was a upcoming FA. My bad. Sorry.

Another dodged bullet. And I wouldn't want to be Houston in the next 4 years with up to $88M a year committed to just two players. They bought a one-way ticket.

_________________________

LATE ADD: Talk about a one-way ticket

Daryl Morey's genius is starting to pale

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[QRich3]

I actually think it's a pretty good bet from the Rockets. People see trading so many future picks as sacrilege because of the Nets, but this is not the same situation, and the Nets thing going as bad as possible doesn't mean it's always gonna go that way. Just because next man lost all of his savings on a bet with decent odds doesn't mean I should never make that bet myself. The Rockets are this close to a championship and mortgaging some of their immediate future to improve those odds is not a bad idea imo.

Of course that's because I think only a couple of those 4 picks are gonna be real, and the other two are either gonna be 25+ picks or turn into second rounders, and they probably get to dump Knight in the process. The headline says 4 1st rounders, but I don't think the full details of the offer are that bad. They never are.

[Galloisdaman]

Could be interesting to have Paul, Harden, Melo, and Butler on the floor at one time. There is only one ball. I assume they will play unselfish and share the ball for a while but will their natural tendencies come out down the road?

[Wammy Giveaway]

Could be interesting to have Paul, Harden, Melo, and Butler on the floor at one time. There is only one ball. I assume they will play unselfish and share the ball for a while but will their natural tendencies come out down the road?

Paul, Harden, Anthony and Butler are all Team USA members, so is Mike D'Antoni. They'll be just fine.

...of course, it's possible the experiment could go downhill from there, like Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard in 2012-13 season.

[Galloisdaman]

Could be interesting to have Paul, Harden, Melo, and Butler on the floor at one time. There is only one ball. I assume they will play unselfish and share the ball for a while but will their natural tendencies come out down the road?

Paul, Harden, Anthony and Butler are all Team USA members, so is Mike D'Antoni. They'll be just fine.

...of course, it's possible the experiment could go downhill from there, like Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard in 2012-13 season.

Would you equate a few week exhibition season to a 7 month pro NBA season?

D Antoni and Melo were not great in NY.

Actually they said something similar about Larry Brown and Marbury being on the Olympic team before their disastrous year in NY.

[esqtvd]

I actually think it's a pretty good bet from the Rockets. People see trading so many future picks as sacrilege because of the Nets, but this is not the same situation, and the Nets thing going as bad as possible doesn't mean it's always gonna go that way. Just because next man lost all of his savings on a bet with decent odds doesn't mean I should never make that bet myself. The Rockets are this close to a championship and mortgaging some of their immediate future to improve those odds is not a bad idea imo.

Of course that's because I think only a couple of those 4 picks are gonna be real, and the other two are either gonna be 25+ picks or turn into second rounders, and they probably get to dump Knight in the process. The headline says 4 1st rounders, but I don't think the full details of the offer are that bad. They never are.

Bad enough, I think.

"According to USA Today's Eric Griffith, the NBA's seven-year rule prohibits teams from dealing away picks more than seven years beyond the date of the trade, and the Stepien rule prevents the Rockets from offering picks in two consecutive years. Although Houston offered the maximum number of picks possible given those rules, they would necessarily have to come every other year — 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025.

Wojnarowski reported that "protections on picks in this proposed deal would be limited" because of these two rules. For example, the Rockets could not offer their 2022 first-round pick as protection for a high 2021 pick because rolling the first-round pick to 2022 would result in back-to-back picks and thus violate the Stepien rule. The Rockets could potentially safeguard some of the picks by offering two second-round picks in lieu of a first rounder, but the Timberwolves almost certainly would not be willing to accept that stipulation for all of the drafts.

Regardless, this trade would severely restrict Houston's flexibility in the lottery, and prevent them from trading any more first-round picks in that seven-year span."

https://www.businessinsider.com/houston-rockets-four-first-rounders-for-jimmy-butler-2018-10

Morey's dealing from weakness. I think he's really painted himself into a corner, and yeah, a Butler is the only thing that's going to salvage even one title from this mess--and because their depth is going to be a rerun of Lob City's, I'm going to bet zero.

[wco81]

There are questions about how Butler will hold up into his 30s.

He's played a lot of minutes under Thibs.

I forget what Miami's best offer was but 4 picks with the last couple probably lottery-protected isn't going to do anything for the Wolves in the next few years.

[Max Headrom]

There are questions about how Butler will hold up into his 30s.

He's played a lot of minutes under Thibs.

I forget what Miami's best offer was but 4 picks with the last couple probably lottery-protected isn't going to do anything for the Wolves in the next few years.

Bigger issues is, if Butler hates playing with Wiggins and KAT because of lack of effort and defense, he'll go nuclear having to play with a clown like Harden who doesn't even pretend to try on the defensive end and takes plays off damn near all game.

[Galloisdaman]

If the Rockets make the deal its basically going all in on this year or next. Its a gamble. I like teams being aggressive but I do wonder about the teams chemistry. They also have Eric Gordon who is a darn good player. So lots of talent but only 1 ball. Someone is not going to get their shots.

[Ranma]

If I recall correctly, I was willing to re-sign Chris Paul to a long-term deal but was reluctant to give him a retirement contract. I think I wanted to give him a 4-year deal while even acknowledging that we'd be overpaying a lot towards the end of that contract, but man, CP3's rapid deterioration makes him an albatross already. Thank you, Point God, for saving us from ourselves. Also, thank you, Jerry West and our front office for not flinching and responding to adversity by making the most of a bad situation.

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[mkwest]

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[MartinToVaught]

Does anyone still wish we gave CP3 the supermax? Yeah, I didn't think so.

[Captain Ballmer]

I am just happy that our FO knows exactly what they are doing.

[wco81]

Does anyone still wish we gave CP3 the supermax? Yeah, I didn't think so.

If they kept the band together, they are still 50-55 wins a year probably?

Though the Clippers definitely got good return for CP3 and ultimately for Blake, since they got Harris whom they traded to Philly.

Future looks bright if the Clippers can sign the big FAs and/or make a big trade like getting AD.

That's IF they pull those off.

Once not long ago, Celtics had an insane amount of assets and for all that, they've yet to make the Finals. Not even sure if they've won 55 games. Maybe they did one year.

[MartinToVaught]

If they kept the band together, they are still 50-55 wins a year probably?

Not with CP3 in his current state. But even if he didn't fall off this badly, we already saw what those 50-55 wins per year got us in the playoffs: nothing but mediocrity, underachievement and frustration. There is no reason to believe it was ever going to change.

Once not long ago, Celtics had an insane amount of assets and for all that, they've yet to make the Finals.

Ainge is no Jerry West. If the Logo was there with all those assets, the Celtics would have a superteam to rival the Warriors.

Not even sure if they've won 55 games. Maybe they did one year.

They won 55 games last year, 53 the year before that.

[wco81]

I think he could still be all star level but as he ages, injury concerns are more prevalent.

Sure they didn't do it in the playoffs but guess what, every year, only one team succeeds in the playoffs, the other 15 teams fail and the other 29 teams don't win titles.

Every fan base on RealGM thinks their team should win a title. Reality is only a handful of teams will win titles every decade. Fewer if there's a dynasty or team of the decade type of franchise.

Don't assume KD or Kawhi alone will put you over the top. Those guys are putting up great numbers because they have spacing to operate in, though Toronto's role players have been hit and miss against Philly.

[Akklaim1]

Can someone please tell Clipsfansince98 to stop posting so much about the Clippers in GB? Dude just loves to bait everyone so that they will give the Clippers credit on anything he feels like talking about.

[QRich3]

I mean, it’s gonna be sh*t on the Rockets week, just like every time a contender gets sent home in the playoffs, but if KD goes East next year and no other super team forms, the Rockets might be title favorites next year, so I’m pretty sure they’re happy with the contract they gave him. He was never a guy that needed to score a lot of points and he’s been integral to the team that had the Warriors against the ropes. It’s like people forgot how far superior the Warriors are to the rest of the league, losing to them in 6 close games, even with Durant’s injury, is no failure.

For us it was a great trade though, dont think anyone’s unhappy with it.

[Quake Griffin]

I’m glad we moved on.

While he was here, I wanted to hit the draft very hard and elongate his career by having a young crew around him. Limit his minutes. I thought if he took care of himself, he could be good until 35-36.

Doesn’t look like he was ever interested.
Doesn’t seem like he would have led that group of my hypothetical young ones the way Bev leads Shai n Sham.
Not sure that I want his playoff demons/ monkeys on his back around this team (I’m the same way with Peyton Kershaw).

I’m over it. Our house is in order.
Enjoy your life in Houston.