The trouble for Houston Rockets doesn’t seem to end, as their team line-up is getting worse after the 2019 NBA drafts. The Rockets lost to the Golden State Warriors in the second round of NBA playoffs and were eliminated. Now, there are reports that two of the biggest Rockets player, James Harden and Chris Paul are planning to leave the team.
While both the team management and the two NBA stars have declined this news, there seem to be something going on. As per the recent reports, the Houston Rockets tried to trade Chris Paul, but there are no takers for him. Here is why Chris Paul is hard to trade and how it can be a problem for the Rockets.
Why no one wants Chris Paul?
Chris Paul is an NBA legend, with a lot of accomplishments over the years. Paul has been named the NBA All-star, All-star defensive team member, an NBA MVP, rookie of the Year, and steals leader. Despite all these stats, the problem is that Chris Paul is now 34 years old. He is in the last cycle of his game and even the smallest injury will make him totally useless.
Still, he has a large contract amount remaining, and the team that trades for him to have to pay $38.5 million. That’s a lot of money and its very rare that any NBA team would spend their cap space on an older Chris Paul. There are so many young stars, which are way cheaper and has a lot of potentials in the future.
Possible Trade Deals for Rockets
Houston Rockets could trade Chris Paul with the LA Lakers and get Kyle Kuzma in place of him. LeBron James and Chris Paul are good friends, and it would be a good duo. But the Lakers barely have any more cap space remaining after getting Anthony Davis from the Pelicans.
The other possible trade deal for the Rockets is to send him to Minnesota Timberwolves and get Andrew Wiggins and other players. While it is also possible that the Houston Rockets can somehow convince the Miami Heat for a trade deal. Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside and others can be exchanged for Chris Paul.