Chris Paul is headed to the Houston Rockets and the balance of power in the NBA is potentially in flux as a result. Obviously, the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers remain atop the league from an intrigue and performance standpoint but the Rockets now boast in an incredibly interesting roster featuring two of the best guards in the league.
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Before that much-ballyhooed trade is official, though, the Rockets needed to add some salary to make the NBA salary cap machinations work and they began putting that together in the immediate aftermath. First, Houston traded for DeAndre Liggins, who has a team option at a very small cap number for next season.
Then, moments later, word broke that the Rockets were taking on Tim Quarterman from the Portland Trail Blazers.
The result is that the Rockets can now move on from both Liggins and Quarterman in an effort to aggregate movable salary for their Chris Paul foray.
Houston could also be preparing for high-level pursuits of top-tier players that could form a "super team" vibe with both Paul and Harden. Even without that, though, these moves were necessary in order to make the math work and the Rockets are way ahead of the curve with a few days before free agency begins on July 1. Stay tuned.
UPDATE: It looks like the Rockets have made two other deals — bringing the total to four — to help the Chris Paul deal.
