It’s hard to find guys in the NBA that actually like each other. We thought that Chris Paul and James Harden liked each other. Everything looked like sunshine and rainbows for the two. They even shoot State Farm commercials together. Now they apparently hate each other’s guts. Chris Paul wants out and the relationship is not ‘salvageable’.
Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports was the first to report the news:
“The delicate relationship between Houston Rockets stars James Harden and Chris Paul has been termed “unsalvageable” and the star players want a divorce, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Paul went to Rockets management and demanded a trade, and Harden issued a “him or me” edict following the Rockets’ second-round loss to the Golden State Warriors, sources said.
The backcourt mates went nearly two months without speaking to each other during the season, sources said, creating a tenuous environment for teammates and everyone involved with the franchise.”
“There’s no respect at all, on either side,” a source told Yahoo Sports. “They need to get away from one another. Chris doesn’t respect James’ standing in the league, and James doesn’t respect the work Chris has put
in to this point.”
There are a lot of juicy points in this article. The one thing that I think is being lost in the shuffle is the fact that Paul’s contract is unmovable. Even if the Rockets want to trade him, nobody with a brain is taking that contract unless it involved multiple unprotected future picks. Therefore, it doesn’t make much sense to trade him. Paul is set to earn $38.5 million, $41.3 million and $44.2 million the next three seasons. YIKES…
I can’t even imagine a potential trade for financial reasons. Chris Paul and James Harden might hate each other all of the sudden, but a trade isn’t feasible. With the Warriors in shambles because of injuries, the Rockets are crumbling at the wrong time.
