Does Chris Paul Make The Rockets Title Contenders?

A turn of events occurred yesterday, with the trade which sends Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets. The Houston Rockets last season finished 3rd in the Western Conference Finals and were eliminated from the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. One of the most successful teams last season, in the regular season, as Mike D'Antoni won Coach of the Year and Eric Gordon 6th Man of the Year. James Harden had an MVP calibre type season, but the Rockets could not overcome the Spurs and could not advance to the Western Conference Finals. 

After last night's trade, Chris Paul is someone who could facilitate the offense, create space for James Harden, and score the basketball. However, many questions have been raised regarding the chemistry in the Houston locker room, how will Chris Paul and James Harden interact on and off the court, and how can they lead the Rockets past the Spurs in order to challenge the Warriors. Even though Chris Paul is an excellent player, him and Harden alone cannot challenge the Spurs and the Warriors on the Western Conference. 

The Houston Rockets according to Brian Windhorst and Stephen. A. Smith of ESPN are trying very hard to trade for Paul George or Carmelo Anthony. If one of these players gets traded to Houston, the Houston Rockets are a legit championship contender, that could challenge the Golden State Warriors. Chris Paul alone with James Harden will not take the Rockets over the top. Chris Paul; is very demanding as a player, as a leader, and this could interfere with James Harden. Both want to have the ball in their hands, and Coach D'Antoni likes to have one point guard, making the right plays, and the right decisions for everybody else as they spread the floor. 

The problem with these two is who is going to hold the ball and facilitate the offense. Chris Paul and James Harden have matured over the years and right now know what to expect from the other 'super teams' so both have to be extremely patient with one, another and do what's best for their team, if they want to challenge the Warriors, the Spurs and the Cavaliers for a title. Carmelo Anthony, who could possibly be traded to Houston, is the pick-up the Rockets need to trade for. Carmelo wants to win an NBA championship, and if he is Olympic-Carmelo the Rockets have a legit chance of challenging the defending champs. He is matured at 33, knows what he wants for the rest of his career, can still score the basketball, while Paul George will be traded for only one year and then (if things don't go as planned) will have the option of joining the Cavaliers, the Lakers, the Celtics or any other team he wants to be a part of as a free-agent. 

So, finally, this trade that happened yesterday is shocking in the fact that it actually happened; but at the moment as things stand the Rockets would still be underneath the Spurs and the Warriors on the Western Conference Standings.