The exact details surrounding the way the Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook trade unfolded may never be fully revealed, but we do know now that James Harden was a key cog in orchestrating the trade for his ex-teammate.
According to Yahoo Sports, Harden wasn’t exactly happy with the relationship between he and Paul, and pretty much made the trade happen.
No contract is untradable in the NBA — not even Chris Paul’s — and with James Harden using his influence to force dramatic change, this seemed somewhat inevitable even if it doesn’t make the most basketball sense for the Houston Rockets.
“James made this [expletive] happen,” a league source told Yahoo Sports. “He wanted Chris up out of there.”
Rockets GM Daryl Morey is the most analytically driven executive in the game, a pioneer of sorts. This deal would seem counter to his sensibilities, at least with Westbrook’s game and the risks that come with it.
When the initial Paul trade rumors surfaced around the time of the NBA draft, there were reports that there was a disconnect between both Paul and Harden, with many saying that Paul rubs players the wrong way with the way he controls things on and off the court like a coach.
Paul, on the other hand, had an issue with the way Harden refused to move within the flow of the offense when he didn’t have the ball in his hands.
Paul and the Rockets tried to save face by saying that everything was good between he and the organization, but when it became clear that Westbrook could be on the trade block, Harden wanted general manager Daryl Morey to make the move for the dynamic point guard.
