Just a quick thought: one of you compared Houston’s pairing of Chris Paul with James Harden to the Rockets’ mid 90’s super-teams featuring Olajuwon, Barkley, and either one of Clyde Drexler or Scottie Pippen. This is a pretty far-off comparison considering that while Olajuwon and Barkley were both still very good players (top-15?), Harden is top 5 and at his absolute peak, and Paul is still top 10 and possibly still in his physical prime albeit at the end of it. Contrary to popular belief, Clyde, while still an All-Star, was pretty washed up comparatively (18 points per game on 44% shooting), and Scottie was a total disaster. This current pairing joins forces at a far more favorable stage for our respective stars, and you can extend that to Carmelo Anthony, in the chance Houston is still able to swing a deal. Anthony, today, is a better player than Clyde Drexler was in 1996. (I mean, really, has anyone become more underrated in today’s NBA than Melo?)
Assuming the Rockets are able to come to terms with Paul again next summer, how long is his window? As a small guard who suffered multiple knee injuries early in his career, Paul has not relied upon his athleticism for quite some time now. I see him aging gracefully, utilizing his godly IQ and midrange shooting ability to stay elite for another two more years, and then still “very good” for yet another two. Good comps in this regard would be John Stockton and Steve Nash.