Chris Paul has agreed to a four-year, $160 million deal to remain with the Houston Rockets, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. CP3 was widely expected to remain with Houston, potentially for up to five years. The Rockets traded for the point guard a year ago, when he could have become an unrestricted free agent but instead put that off until 2018.
Chris Paul re-signs with Rockets for huge money as Houston wants to ‘run it back’
CP3’s $160 million contract puts Houston in position to challenge the Warriors again at a big long-term risk.
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CP3 himself confirmed he was staying in Houston with a tweet just after midnight ET on Sunday.
The Rockets took the Warriors to seven games in the Western Conference Finals behind Paul and James Harden this spring. Only a historic three-point shooting drought prevented Houston from moving on to the NBA Finals and likely bringing the franchise its first title since the mid-1990s.
Paul is 33 years old and has missed at least 20 games in each of the last two seasons.
In terms of running it back, Houston has two more major free agents to deal with this summer: Clint Capela and Trevor Ariza. Capela is a restricted free agent, which means that the Rockets have time and matching power on their side. Ariza, however, is a flight risk as a mid-tier player who could be poached by a rival for a competitive salary.
For their part, the Warriors retained top free agent Kevin Durant in the wee moments of free agency. Golden State will indeed be running it back for an attempt at a third straight championship.
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