CP3 In Houston? Mavs Fans Don't Worry One Bit

Dear Mavs Fans,

The Houston Rockets made a trade to bring in Chris Paul from the Clippers. To quote NBA MVP Russell Westbrook, "That’s cute."

Mavericks fans don’t sweat what you are seeing in Houston … again.

Rocket uber-smart GM Daryl Morey has made trades for big names before and they have resulted in ZERO trips to the NBA Finals. I don’t see any championship banners hanging on Morey’s watch.

I’ll give him credit for bringing in big-time players and being creative, but we saw what happened with his big free agent signing of Dwight Howard to go along with James Harden: no chemistry. Harden didn’t like playing with Howard and that pairing blew up.

I have respected Chris Paul’s game since he was in college at Wake Forest. I think he’s a fantastic NBA talent. He was just named first team All NBA Defense.  BUT…what did he do in L.A.? What about New Orleans?

The fact is Paul’s never taken his team to the NBA’s Western Conference Finals. Don’t overlook that. Paul's 76 playoff games are the most for a player without an appearance in the Conference Finals. He’s been Choke City during career and should we expect that to change in Clutch City?

In his last game as a Clipper, Paul’s club lost Game Seven at home to the Utah Jazz.  And get this, it marked the fifth time the Clippers blew a playoff series in which they had a lead. CP3 is not getting it done when it counts the most.

Oh by the way, James Harden’s not been clutch in the playoffs either. His lackluster 2012 NBA Finals performance still has me shaking my head. Harden’s Rockets got put out of the 2017 playoffs in Game 6 at the Toyota Center with his underwhelming 10 points two of 10 from the field, three rebounds, seven assists and six turnovers. They got drilled by 39 points and the Spurs didn't even play their MVP-candidate Kawhi Leonard. That was shameful and Harden took heat for the loss.

I know Dallas fans get mad about Donnie Nelson. Yes, his drafts of the past have not been good. Nelson is one of the few general managers in the league that can say he put together a team that has won a NBA title. The 2011 Mavericks were not a super team but they sure beat one in the Miami Heat that featured LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Dallas native Chris Bosh.

Houston is trying to add Paul George to its roster via trade. I don’t see Carmelo Anthony coming to Houston because he was not a fan of the offense back with current NBA Coach of the Year, Mike D’Antoni was his coach in New York. Scratch that reunion in H-town. If Houston fails to land George they will be good, win another 50-games and with Paul’s playoff resume be sitting at home watch the Spurs and Warriors battle it out in the West Finals.

We will see if Houston can build a super team. The Rockets will win 50 games and entertain fans but Dallas Mavs fans should not be worried about a championship parade in Houston anytime soon.