Chris Paul is far past his prime. His role on any NBA basketball team has become veteran mentor and as always an extension of the coaching staff. The days of him being a leading man on a championship team are long gone. Chris Paul hasn’t shied away from the fact that this season will be his farewell tour. Well, that farewell tour just turned into a vengeance tour, because the Los Angeles Clippers just unceremoniously announced that Paul is no longer a part of the team. Now the question looms, where will he go next?
Aside from the fact that Chris Paul is the single biggest “what if” in Rockets history, there is actually a void on this team he fills, if he wanted to return to Houston. Since Fred VanVleet’s season ending injury, the discussion has surrounded the team about who the Rockets could trust to lead the team’s offense. As it turned out the answer was already on their roster in Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, and the emergence of Reed Sheppard.
With the league’s second-ranked offense and defense, the transition has been more seamless than Rockets fans may have feared. As it turns out Fred’s production on the court was able to be replaced. However, there is something Paul brings that has not been able to be replaced and that is his ability to control the ball without turning it over. The Rockets currently have the sixth most turnovers in the entire league.
So, hear me out… the easy move for Chris Paul is to go to the Lakers or to the OKC Thunder, if they see fit to make a roster spot for him. However, there is no real role for Chris Paul on the Lakers or Thunder other than a feel-good story. He would essentially be a mascot, paraded out before every road game to waive goodbye to a spattering mix of cheers and boos from the crowd. Then he would sit waiting for a blowout or an injury.
I’m not saying Chris Paul would be a starter in Houston, or even a featured member off the bench like Tari Eason, but there are valuable minutes that Paul could play vital role in getting the Rockets into their offensive sets and mentoring Reed Sheppard and Amen Thompson while being on the court and participating in practices. His most valuable asset has always been the ability to calm things down when they get hectic on the court. To top it all off, if anyone who is a fan of Chris Paul wants to see him get his storybook ending, he could still get that here in Houston.
There is no team that Chris Paul played on that had a better chance of winning an NBA Title than the 2017-2018 Houston Rockets, who were possibly a hamstring pull away from defeating arguably the greatest team ever assembled in the Golden State Warriors. Can you imagine what would be said about Chris Paul if he were to go to the defending champs, who are favored to win it all again this season, and they don’t win the championship? Regardless of his role on the team he would be crucified through no fault of his own.
Chris Paul has a reputation of not being the easiest person to get along with, due to his relentlessness when it comes to holding his teammates accountable to the same standard he holds himself to. There have been rumblings that not only was that the reason that James Harden had him removed from the Rockets after just two seasons, but that may have been why he was removed from the Clippers. According to Kevin O’Connor, James Harden pushed back on Chris Paul’s signing.
It’s well known that Chris Paul comes with baggage. But you know who else has a rep for rubbing people the wrong way for demanding accountability.? Ime Udoka, who has already established a culture of accountability. It’s the type of low-risk possibly high-reward move that Raphael Stone likes to make. Add on the fact that he just happens to be Reed Sheppard’s favorite player of all-time, that he has tried to pattern his game after.
It makes more sense than you want to admit as you’re reading this. Is it going to happen? I don’t know, but I will say if Raphael Stone has not at least picked up the phone and inquired about Chris Paul then he is doing this team a disservice. Pick up the phone, start with the team washing machine as your trade package and see where you get from there. Worst case scenario you move on to something else, best-case scenario you have an on the court solution to veteran leadership at the point guard position.