Future Hall of Famer Chris Paul (scheduled for early admission as a member of the 2008 US Olympic team) has announced he will retire at the end of the 2025-26 season. He will play only one more year in the NBA. He’ll have his choice of teams across the league who would appreciate his veteran savvy in a backup role. Will the Houston Rockets stick their neck out to acquire his swan song services?
Should Chris Paul Do Retirement Tour With The Rockets?
By moving on from challenging youngster Cam Whitmore, and waiving the redundant Jock Landale, the Rockets have positioned themselves for one more move this off-season. The center position is covered with the reacquisition from longtime former Houston starting center Clint Capela. They have plenty of defense and athleticism on the wings. Their shooting has improved significantly from last season already. One thing they still lack, however, is playmaking. There’d be no more effective solution than bringing back another veteran from the past – the Point God himself.
Paul played only two years for the Rockets, but he left a mark on the franchise. In his first year with the team, 2017-18, the Rockets came the closest they would to a championship in the entire James Harden era. It took 27 straight missed threes to stop them from defeating the dominant Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. Aside from the mild trauma Rockets fans now associate with the number 27, the 2017-18 roster is remembered with extreme fondness.
Is Paul to the Rockets A Pipe Dream?
While Paul’s mission with the Rockets was a great time for Houston fans, it may have left a different impression on Paul himself. Before getting to Houston, Paul had made six straight first-team All-Defensive teams. From 2007-08 to 2016-17, Paul went to nine All-Star games and received All-NBA spots and MVP votes in eight out of ten seasons. After he’d left Houston, moving on to Oklahoma City and then Phoenix, Paul had three more All-Star and All-NBA seasons.
In two seasons with Houston? Paul received zero official award recognition. Arguably, the greatest maestro of his generation was well and truly second fiddle to Harden.
The 2018 postseason has been supplanted for Paul as well. That Rockets team may have been Paul’s best, but it was not the one that got closest to the title that rostered him. Paul made the NBA Finals in 2021 with the Phoenix Suns. He even won the first two games of the series.
Paul also has much closer ties to Harden’s current team – the Los Angeles Clippers. That’s where he spent the bulk of his prime and settled down with his family. Meanwhile, the current Rockets ownership wasn’t even responsible for bringing Paul aboard. Paul had a down year in 2018-19 that prompted him to change his diet. Instead of waiting to see the results, Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta pushed for Paul to be traded to OKC for Russell Westbrook, and ultimately capsized the Harden era.
Why Paul to the Rockets Makes Sense
Realistically, if Paul did choose Houston for his retirement tour, it wouldn’t be sentimentality that motivated him. But Houston has other factors working in its favor. For one thing, it would be another chance to play with Kevin Durant.
Paul and Durant were a quietly effective duo in the half-a-season they played together at Phoenix. They had a +8.7 net rating in 227 minutes together in the postseason before striking carbon monoxide against the 2022-23 Denver Nuggets. By taking two games off the eventual champions, they wound up being the Nuggets’ most challenging adversaries. With a whole offseason to work with, they could complement each other even better in 2025-26, even if they won’t be complementing one another’s youth and vitality.
Already a contender without him, Paul’s fit as a backup with Houston also just happens to be exquisite. He would be an ideal mentor for Houston’s young guard prospect, Reed Sheppard, whose readiness for the primary backup role remains unknown. Besides that, he would be instantly, by far, the best passer on the roster. Surrounded by athleticism at every other position, Paul could be his cerebral self. His and Ime Udoka’s no-nonsense messages about professionalism and attention to detail should align nicely as well.
The Last Word
There is speculation that Paul wants to start. He may also want to be close to his family on the West Coast. Given that, last year, he chose to sign with the rebuilding San Antonio Spurs, a chance at a title isn’t necessarily a priority for him either. And some Houston fans may be leery of the distraction of a Paul retirement tour. Houston should definitely make inquiries though. Retirement tour or not, Paul is an all-in kind of guy, and this is an all-in year for the Rockets to get over the hump. An over-the-hill Chris Paul might have just the kind of experience they need.
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