While Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey has consistently denied that Chris Paul and James Harden are at odds with one another, if the rumor is indeed true, can the Phoenix Suns make a Godfather offer he cannot refuse?
The Problem
Former Phoenix Suns Head Coach Mike D’Antoni has the Houston Rockets humming.
Shattering 3-point records like they were originally set by high schoolers, the Rockets can blow through the league during the Regular Season, but the roster as of yet does not seem to have the firepower necessary to shoot themselves to an NBA Championship.
For two seasons James Harden and Chris Paul have torn through the Western Conference, destroying the competition with the second most dynamic backcourt in the world (Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are still number one), cultivating an exciting pairing that not only seems smooth and carefree on the court, as well as in television commercials.
Sorry James, but we all know you destroyed Chris’ kitchen.
And yet recently rumor has it that all is not well behind the scenes.
The Rockets cannot seem to come to an agreement on a contract extension with D’Antoni, rumor has it they are willing to trade Clint Capela (although that does not surprise me at all), and now Harden and Paul seem to be at such tremendous odds with one another that the end of the Rockets as we know it may be much sooner than it should.
Apparently Chris Paul has not only demanded a trade (which again, Morey has denied), but James Harden has told management that it is a time for choosing: him or me.
Morey can deny it in public all he wants (and he has refuted it very emphatically), players and general managers around the league know the truth, and if the truth is that the two Rockets stars have reached an un-repairable impasse, something will have to be done.
This is where James Jones and the Phoenix Suns can do what the franchise failed to do seven years ago and attempt to bring the former Arizona State University Sun Devil back home where he belongs.