Chris Paul has agreed to a max deal contract that will potentially keep him with the Houston Rockets for the next four years. Paul is expected to sign a max deal contract for four years and $160 million dollars. Paul confirmed the news on his Twitter page, where he posted a photo of him in a Houston Rockets uniform with the comment, “UNFINISHED BUSINESS…RUN IT BACK.”
Paul and the Rockets had a decent year in Houston but didn’t complete what they had started out to do. The Rockets finished up the 2017-2018 regular season with a 65-16 record, which was the best record in the NBA. They finished the season seven games ahead of the Golden State Warriors for the top spot in the Western Conference Playoffs and went into the playoffs as the #1 seed in the West.
The Rockets were eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in seven games, from advancing to the NBA Finals. They came up one game short from making the finals and now will be returning James Harden and Chris Paul, to attempt to finish what they started, an NBA Finals Championship.
On the season, Paul averaged 18.6 points per game and 7.9 assists per game, which is nothing to write home about. The assists were the second lowest of his career but he was also limited on games he was on the court, which played a major part in his low statistics.
Paul only played in 58 games in 2017-2018 due to various injuries. Paul had a serious knee injury that kept him sidelined throughout most of October and when he finally returned from injury, he was hampered with the return and his numbers were affected. His playoff run was cut short as well by injury. In the postseason, he suffered a hamstring injury that put him out in game six and game seven.
Without Paul in the lineup, the Rockets lost and were eliminated from the conference finals. Most people believe that if Paul had been able to play in the entire 2018 NBA Western Conference Championship, that there may have been a different outcome. The Rockets were limited on their production with Paul out of the lineup and put more pressure on James Harden to serve as the only source of production.
Paul is 33 years old and has been in the NBA since 2005, when he was drafted by the New Orleans Hornets with the fourth overall pick. Paul is a nine-time NBA All-Star, NBA All-Star game MVP and has a plethora of accolades during his NBA career. Paul has played with the Hornets, LA Clippers and the Houston Rockies in his career.
With Paul being signed, the Rockets will now turn their attention to Center Clint Capela. Capela is going to be encouraged into taking a discount to remain with the team, with the potential for a NBA Championship. The Rockets did, however, lose Trevor Ariza, who will reportedly sign a one year contract to play with the Phoenix Suns.
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