NBA Rumors: Why Paul George would complete the Houston Rockets

NBA Rumors: Though they were already inches away from ousting the Warriors and contending for an NBA Championship, adding Paul George would take the Rockets the extra mile

The Houston Rockets were up 3-2 on the defending champion Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and the rest of the Dubs were on the ropes clinging to life before Chris Paul went down, clutching his now-ailing hamstring, in Houston’s Game 5 victory.

Despite getting oh-so-close to dethroning the dynasty in the Bay Area, the Rockets fell just short. Though they lost, they proved that it is indeed possible to beat the Warriors at their own game: knocking down 3’s at a frenetic pace.

Unfortunately, James Harden led the Rockets to one of the worst 3-point performances ever on an NBA floor in Game 7, losing on their own home floor. Despite not having Chris Paul and that horrible performance from downtown, the Rockets still came close to victory.

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Prior to this series, I was of the belief that the only biggest key to success in today’s NBA was a capable, if not dominant small forward (LeBron, Durant, Kawhi, Antetokounmpo etc.). Though not dominant, Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala were more than capable of providing offense and defense to assist the Splash Brothers.

But this series showed that Houston damn well deserved to share the floor with the Warriors by shooting the lights out. With Trevor Ariza and P.J. Tucker not exactly fitting the small forward formula described above, the Rockets are an anomaly that have a lot more to them. Their powers lie within sixth man Eric Gordon, complementing Harden and Paul off the bench.

Now, just for a second, imagine if Paul George became that dominant small forward that Houston currently lacks, alongside some sick shooting with Harden, Paul and Gordon in the fold. Now, Ariza would obviously would be gone if this was to ever happen, if not more, but the Rockets would need to find a way to keep Harden, Paul, Gordon and emerging center Clint Capela in the fold to make this acquisition worthwhile.

George played small forward back when he was with the Indiana Pacers a few years ago, contending with LeBron James and his Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Playoffs for years on end. The former Fresno State star made his fair share of all-star appearances as a small forward and proved that he was among the league’s elite at the position.

With the shooting skills already spread all over the floor with Paul, Harden and Gordon, adding an all-around star in George would bring the Rockets to previously unimaginable heights that would be enough to down the Warriors. After coming so close without him this year, George will push the Rockets over the hump that they nearly overcame this year.

This is all hypothetical, as George appears more than content to play alongside Russell Westbrook, the 2017 NBA Most Valuable Player. Even if he decided to leave Oklahoma City, there are plenty of other teams that have been interested in bringing George into the fold, including the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers.

If winning is the thing George cares most about, Houston is clearly the place to go do it. As of now, the NBA runs through Golden State but had he been on that Rockets team last month, they would’ve taken care of the Warriors. It’s not fair to say that Houston needs George to win after the season they just had but it would be ignorant if they didn’t at least explore adding him without sacrificing any of their core in Paul, Harden, Gordon and Capela.

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If Paul George sports the bright red and white next season and years after that, the jewelry case will be gaining some more pieces shortly thereafter.

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