NBA Legend Believes Rockets Need to Bring in Chris Paul to Fix Problems

One NBA legend talked about why Houston needs to reunite with Chris Paul this season.

May 10, 2019; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul (3) warms up before playing against the Golden State Warriors before game six of the second round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas B. Shea-Imagn Images

By now, it's clear that the Houston Rockets' lack of a true point guard has hindered the season, especially as of late. Since Dec. 1, they've gone 10-11, ranking 10th in offensive rating and 16th in defensive rating.

After Fred VanVleet tore his ACL in September, Ime Udoka said that the Rockets' point guard position would be run by a committee. We've seen everyone from Reed Sheppard to Amen Thompson to Alperen Sengun be offensive initiators, and through the first 20 games of the season, it appeared to be working.

However, that has been exposed over the last month and a half. Houston has a clear turnover problem, averaging more than 15 per game. There's also a lack of ball movement, with the team relying on shot-making (namely, Kevin Durant) to generate buckets, rather than running actions for open shots.

Prior to the Rockets' 111-91 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, the NBA on Prime Video discussed their issues. Former veterans Blake Griffin and Udonis Haslem noted Houston's absence of a primary initiator, as well as a lack of secondary actions to keep off-ball players involved.

NBA legend Dwyane Wade took note of this and threw out one solution that many fans have been talking about for months. The former champion said that Chris Paul would be an option to at least mitigate the damage being done right now.

"Blake said, standing around. UD, they need an organizer," Wade said. "They need a quarterback. They need a conductor. They need a guy who can get guys in their spots. They need a guy who can play with bigs. They got [Alperen] Sengun], they got [Steven] Adams."

"Chris Paul [is] out there. They need a veteran. They need a guy who doesn't need to score. Just throwing that out there. These are all of the things that Chris Paul does very well."

Paul, a former Rocket, was dismissed by the LA Clippers earlier in the season and is unlikely to return to the team. Last season, he averaged 8.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game with the San Antonio Spurs, so it's clear that his production hasn't completely gone away.

Houston simply needs someone to conduct, as Wade noted. Paul doesn't have to score, but rather get players in the right spots and set up teammates while also being a veteran leader. He is widely regarded as one of the best two-way guards of all time.