NBA: Dream Duo against the Empire

The Houston Rockets caused Chris Paul’s first big bang in the off-season with the trade.But the hoped-for Big Three with Carmelo Anthony didn’t.But even in this way, the Texans are among the challengers of the Warriors in the West.The off-season of the rockets in the analysis.

Shortly before the Free Agency started, the rockets caused a huge bang.First of all, Daryl Morey collected all the small and non-guaranteed contracts.Ryan Kelly (later gewaived), DeAndre Liggins, Darrun Hillard, Shawn Long and Tim Quarterman were brought into the squad for a bit of cash.

This was the ultimate trade.Sam Dekker, Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Liggins, Hillard, Kyle Wiltjer, Montrezl Harrell, a first-round pick in 2018 and Cash went to the Los Angeles Clippers, in return came the nine-time all-star Chris Paul.Prior to the trade, he had quickly pulled out his options for next year’s game so that the deal could go through.

In addition, franchise player James Harden signed the Designated Veteran Player Extension and is now tied to the Texans for a record amount of 228 million by 2023.

But this was not the end of the great storm.Houston also dredged the entire summer to Carmelo Anthony.According to Melo, the trade was close to being concluded, but finally burst.Instead, Melo was shipped to Oklahoma City.Also the campaign for Warriors all-rounder Andre Iguodala was unsuccessful.

So the Rockets were content with some smaller Free Agents.Nene was further committed (3 years, 11 million), also PJ Tucker (4 years, 31.9 million) and Luc Mbah a Moute (1.4 million) signed and are to bring Defense on the wing.Tarik Black is a solid backup for the five at a good rate (3.3 million).

In the draft, the rockets were followed by Isaiah Hartenstein (#43) in the second round, but he is expected to play in the G-League.The rights to No. 45-Pick Dillion Brooks were sent to Memphis against a future second-round pick.Demetrius Jackson (formerly Celtics) has been equipped with a two-way contract.

Troy Williams convinced in the Summer League (22 points on average) and got a partially guaranteed contract for three years (4.7 million in total) and the contract of the Chinese center Zhou Qi is guaranteed for one year (0.8 million).

Besides all the transactions, there was also something going on outside the field.Owner Leslie Alexander sold the team to the Texas billionaire Tilman Fertitta after 23 years. 2.2 billion dollars were transferred.Never before has an NBA franchise paid so much for an NBA franchise.

GM Morey’s credo is well known.The master of numbers is always on the lookout for a move to create – ideally – a big three.After the out of playoffs, Morey announced that he had more than just an ace up his sleeve.The trade for Chris Paul was a stroke of genius, hardly expected, but also a big risk, as Paul’s contract expires next summer.It is not clear whether CP3 wants the Super Max, an extension a la Harden, but it was he who pushed through the tariff as the leader of the players’ union.

The Rockets accept this, however.While speculation was being expressed as to whether it would not be wiser to sit out the Warrior dynasty, the Texans switched to attack mode.The aggressive (and unsuccessful) campaign for Melo or Iggy underlined this once again.

With Harden, the Rockets have tied a real superstar with or without Paul for the long term, so Houston is likely to be playing for the top in the West for years to come.The coming season is an experiment, but Morey and Co.they go about it with a clear conscience.

Last season it was already evident that the rockets are not particularly deep.Coach Mike D’ Antoni often left only eight players on a lead in the playoffs.The troop was too dependent on Harden and the Distance Throw.The Paul commitment has at least eradicated this, and nothing has changed in the thin squad.

It will also be exciting to see how the Combo Paul-Harden will work.Especially CP3 has a reputation for not always being the easiest to maintain.Patrick Beverley’s absence could also be noticeable.The Chain Dog worked game for game the high-class guards in the west.Paul must now take over this task.

There’s no denying that he can do this, as he’s been on the First All-Defensive team seven times.However, CP3 is now also 32 years old, which raises some doubts about whether he can and wants to defensively maintain this constant level like Beverley over the course of a season.

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In this case we can put two personalities in one, the Backcourt.Mike D’ Antoni now has the luxury of having a top-class playmaker on the court for 48 minutes, if he scales the minutes of the beard and Paul sensibly.

Harden will have to walk for a few minutes and can finally give up some responsibility.In the playoffs it was to be seen that the tank against the San Antonio Spurs was completely empty.

Both actors will be motivated.Chris Paul is blameless as one of the best point guards in history, not even having reached a conference final, while Harden’s performances in the playoffs repeatedly collapsed.The hope is that they will be able to eliminate these shadows in the bond.

It’s a little strange.The blockbuster trades of Boston and Oklahoma City brought the Rockets’ off-season almost to a halt, partly because they brought the league to a close at an early stage.The Texans would have been the absolute winner almost every other summer.

But even so, the rating is consistently positive.The experiment with Chris Paul may be daring, but the yield could be even greater.In addition to CP3, the rockets made a few small deals, which were under the radar, but definitely helped the franchise.Mbah a Moute, Nene, Black or Tucker are all excellent role-players whom Houston welcomed to the squad despite the danger of a luxury tax.

The Melo-Coup didn’t make it, but Houston will certainly be a bit of a tickle for Champion Golden State, even though the Warriors are still the best team.The league can only do the upgrade well.The Rockets believe in their chance and they have the right to do so.

The grade: 1