The Houston Rockets are reportedly willing to trade anybody on the team in an attempt to upgrade the roster. What would this potential fire sale mean for the Utah Jazz?
During the prolonged lull between the Conference Finals and the NBA Finals, it can be easy for NBA fans to get a little restless. The (presumably) most exciting event of the year is on the cusp of getting underway, but in the meantime there’s no NBA basketball being played to satiate that desire. As such, it can be a tough and drawn out stretch for fans.
For Utah Jazz fans, who have been without their team since the first round, even the NBA Finals can fail to satisfy a desire for news regarding their squad as the excitement of the summer won’t get underway for them until after the NBA Finals ends. The NBA Draft is on June 20th and free agency begins on June 30th.
However, this season during the typically tedious break in action before the battle for the NBA Championship begins, we got a bit of shocking news courtesy of breaking news extraordinaire Adrian Wojnarowski. What did good ol’ Woj have to say this time around? Well, bluntly, that after falling short to the Golden State Warriors in two consecutive seasons, we could be seeing a fire sale from Daryl Morey and the Houston Rockets.
Apparently, the entire Rockets roster is being made available for trade. Yes – even James Harden, though his availability is reportedly and undoubtedly extremely limited. But what may come as a surprise to some is that Chris Paul is among names that is supposedly being very much shopped.
Chris Paul has had a prolific NBA career and is a sure-fire Hall of Famer despite only making one Conference Finals appearance. There’s no questioning that his experience and talent could instantly make a number of teams better, and in a vacuum, Houston could potentially get a nice haul for him.
But the question that exists is how much longer can Paul continue to be a difference maker? He’s struggled with several injuries throughout his career, especially recently, and Father Time appeared to catch up to him more this season than ever. Not only that, and perhaps more concerning, is Paul’s contract. He’s signed through 2021-22 (player option for the ’21-22 season) for a whopping $124 million over the next three years.
Considering that he’ll be 37 by the postseason of that final year, that’s a risky and frightening amount of salary to take on.
Sources: In calls to front offices, Houston GM Daryl Morey is showing an aggressive desire to improve roster with all players and picks available in talks. Hard to imagine James Harden scenario, but the rest under contract - perhaps even Chris Paul - could be moved in right deal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 29, 2019
Clint Capela is also a name mentioned by Woj that the Rockets seem quite open to moving. Though he’s been prolific against the Utah Jazz for two straight postseasons, he’s struggled against the Warriors and largely disappeared this past year. If Houston is determined to improve such that they can get past Golden State, perhaps they’ll feel that he is not the answer.
And that by and large is why Morey and the Rockets organization are considering a fire sale. They’ve fallen to the Warriors in four of the past five postseasons. This year they had a golden opportunity with a series knotted at two games apiece and Kevin Durant out with injury but they still couldn’t get it done. That had to be beyond discouraging.
However, in spite of Houston’s desire to improve, they may find making roster moves to be easier said than done. And breaking up what they’ve worked so hard to build may have the opposite effect of pushing them past the Warriors when all is said and done.
It’s impossible to predict what exactly will happen with the Rockets and what implications it will ultimately have league-wide. But for now, here are three ways in which the Houston Rockets’ potential fire sale could impact the Utah Jazz depending on what shakes out.