One of the few teams that has been considered to be a serious contender in the LeBron James free-agency sweepstakes is the Houston Rockets. They were one game and very likely one Chris Paul injury away from beating the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals and seem poised to make another deep playoff run next season.
That run would likely be made a whole lot deeper if James did decide to sign with the Rockets. That is probably why, according to a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowksi, Paul is putting much of his offseason energy into trying to bring James to Houston.
More from @wojespn on Chris Paul, from the ESPN2 NBA Draft preview:
"Chris is going to return there. Right now, his focus isn't so much on his own free agency, he's trying to recruit LeBron James to Houston." #Rocketshttps://t.co/g96qHzr3eU
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) June 19, 2018
According to @wojespn, Chris Paul isn't focused on his own free agency as much as he is bringing talent to Houston. "Somebody close to (Paul) said to me that he has his focus on recruiting LeBron (to Houston) as anything he's done in this league."
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) June 19, 2018
Paul was just one win away from his first NBA Finals berth until a hamstring injury benched him for Game 6 and Game 7 in the conference finals. It seems that missed opportunity has only given him more drive to succeed next season.
“Yeah, he took it hard. But you know what, he’ll be back,” Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. “He’ll be back 100 percent and we’re ready to go.”
It seems Paul believes the best way to get the NBA Finals is to suit up alongside James. Considering the fact that the four-time MVP has advanced to eight straight Finals, it’s pretty hard to blame him.