Chris Paul Rumors: Free Agent's Contract Creating Tension with Rockets

The Houston Rockets have a fascinating summer ahead of them, with Chris Paul and Trevor Ariza set to hit unrestricted free agency and Clint Capela restricted free agency. It's unlikely the team will be able to retain all three.

And keeping Paul, which likely will require a max contract, is reportedly creating tension within the organization, as Chris Broussard noted on Undisputed:

"From what I'm told, there is tension now between Houston and Paul. Because there was definitely some type of handshake, wink wink, 'We're going to max you out' [agreement] last summer. But here's the thing: Now, they're not so sure.

"Houston, with good reason, doesn't want to do that. But they've got an out, because they have new ownership. So, Daryl Morey can go to Chris Paul and be like, 'I want to do it, but we've got the new owner [who] doesn't want to give you five years, four years.'"

Paul already took a pay cut once in Houston, opting into the last year of his contract last summer to facilitate a trade to the Rockets. Had he agreed to a max extension with the Clippers or signed a max deal as a free agent, he would have made far more money. 

As ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski noted on his podcast in early June (h/t Kurt Helin of NBC Sports), Paul was never likely to give the team another discount:

“When the Rockets made that deal for Chris Paul, knowing they would re-sign him, they made a conscious decision that they were gonna have to live with $46, $47 million-a-year salary when he's not nearly the player anymore in his late 30s, but, 'We're gonna make a run at it now; we wanna win a championship now. We'll deal with it [Paul's contract] later.'

"We'll see how that plays out in their contract talks here in free agency. Chris Paul didn't turn down $200 million from the Clippers because he thought that somehow the Rockets were gonna talk him into saving them luxury-tax money. I don't imagine it playing out that way."

The issue for the Rockets is an immense and looming luxury tax bill. Houston already has $78 million committed to player salaries for next season, per Spotrac, with the majority of that money taken up by James Harden ($30.4 million), Ryan Anderson ($20.4 million) and Eric Gordon ($13.4 million).

Capela is likely to get a max offer in restricted free agency, while Ariza will surely get big offers on the open market himself. The Rockets may be able to entice a team to take on Anderson or Gordon's salaries by attaching future assets to a trade, but it seems unlikely. 

So, retaining Capela and signing Paul to a supermax deal would take the Rockets well into the tax. But if they have any hope of competing with the Warriors, it's a price they'll have to pay.