Mike D'Antoni on Rockets' trade for Chris Paul and fit with incumbent star James Harden

Sam Amick | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Clippers trading Chris Paul to Houston The Los Angeles Clippers have agreed to deal perennial All-Star PG Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets, where he'll team up with fellow superstar James Harden.

The Houston Rockets gained ground on the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, when they traded for nine-time All-Star Chris Paul and took their point guard prowess to a whole new level in the process.

As if having the pre-eminent point guard coach in Mike D’Antoni wasn’t enough. And as if perennial MVP candidate James Harden didn’t show us last season that he’s one of the best playmakers in the game. Now they have Paul, the Hall of Fame-bound talent who made the bold decision to leave the Clippers in pursuit of his first championship.

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For D’Antoni, whose best work came during those Phoenix Suns days with the great Steve Nash and who once helped turn Jeremy Lin into a global sensation while with the New York Knicks, it doesn’t get much better than this. His team, which went from 41 wins two seasons ago to a 55-win showing in his debut campaign and a second-round exit at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs, just raised its ceiling again thanks to the competitiveness of owner Les Alexander and the handy front-office work of general manager Daryl Morey.

Just two nights after being named Coach of the Year during the NBA Awards show in New York, the 66-year-old D’Antoni broke the deal down with USA TODAY Sports on the NBA A to Z podcast on Wednesday. He discussed the vision for using Harden and Paul together, talked about the long relationship he has had with Paul because of his time coaching with Team USA, and shared a sidestory about the time Paul played recruiter for D’Antoni’s son as he was choosing colleges. And as D’Antoni was willing to admit, there’s a six-degrees-of-Golden State component to this monumental move that they hope pays off.

“We're chasing maybe one of the best teams ever in the history of basketball,” D’Antoni said of the Warriors, who won their second title in three years earlier this month.

“Nobody wants to go into the season going, 'OK, if you have a really good year, you can come in third.' You just don't want to do that, so we're all in.”

The following is an edited version of the D’Antoni interview:

On his plans for making the most of Harden and Paul as a dynamic duo…

“It's a little early to say that we'll do this or we'll do that, for sure. But I do know, (and) I've always thought that the more point guards you have on the court the better. And we've got, probably, two of the best if not the best in the league. So we'll just have to figure it out a little bit. And the other good thing about it is that there will always be a great point guard on the floor at all times, so it's definitely a positive. And Chris Paul, I've coached him for eight summers with USA Basketball. And he's one of the smartest, and — I've always thought — the best point guard in the league, forever. So we'll figure it out. And we will have different guys on the ball at different times, I'm sure. But again, I just don't see a problem.

“It's a little bit like USA Basketball. You say, 'Well, wait a minute, you've got LeBron (James) and you've got these guys, how do you figure it all out?' Well, they figure it out. ... That's how our guys (will do it). They're at the point in their careers where it's just a matter of winning, and so we will hopefully figure it out together.”

On where he was when the deal was going down…

“Well to be honest with you, because I've been all over the place. And Daryl, they get up in their war room and they to go to work. I was reading in the papers like most of ya, in the sense that I don't really want to know. But I read a couple times that there was a possibility, but there's always those rumors out there that he's looking elsewhere. And I kind of always thought that you usually go back to the team, usually there's a lot of smoke and really no fire. And so I didn't think much about it until late last night, when it was an almost done deal (and) I get a text that it looks good, and so it just kind of went from there. I went to bed, and I got up, and then ... about 11 (central time) I got a text that it's happening, and I walk in the office, and see it up on the scroll that it happened. And then I found out it wasn't official until the afternoon, when we did it. So that's kind of how it goes.

“I'm in Houston, at home. I just got back from New York. Daryl didn't come out to New York, probably because he was working on different things, or different scenarios, and getting ready for free agency ... and again, I was in one of those great positions. I love the team that we had, and if nothing happened then nothing happened. But if they were able to pull something off, then great. But I just think it turned out great, obviously.”

On the idea that Harden was asked to do too much last season and why he’s willing to share the load with Paul…

“Well, (Harden's view) definitely comes into play. It's where it all starts is his willingness to do whatever it takes to win. And again, it started the year before where we moved him over to point guard, and now we're going probably move him back for a large part of the game. He'll still be on the point a lot. They'll share more. And yeah, I think realistically, you look around the league, and I think we kind of maxed out last year. And so now, you had a Hall of Fame point guard on a team that has a Hall of Fame point guard (laughs). And so it becomes more realistic, and — like you said — it will take a big burden off his shoulders. ... You could even go — and I don't know if this is a right analogy or not — but just (think about how) (Stephen) Curry got banged up ... two seasons ago (in the playoffs). He was doing all that, and they don't win. And then you get Kevin (Durant last summer), who takes the pressure off a lot of people, and so they win easily. There's a little bit of, as you chase Golden State you have to keep getting better, and you have to keep adding pieces that are phenomenal, and I just think we did that today.”

On the Warriors ripple effect that is spreading throughout the league…

“Yeah, no doubt about it. That's the deal. We're chasing maybe one of the best teams ever in the history of basketball. There's some unbelievable talent, so you just can't stay stagnant. Nobody wants to go into the season going, 'OK, if you have a really good year, you can come in third.' You just don't want to do that, so we're all in, and James has always been all in. That's what makes it nice. That means sharing more of the spotlight, or sharing the ball, or sharing whatever, he's more than willing to do that. And he's always a willing passer, and a willing playmaker. That's why I thought the playmaking thing would work (when he moved Harden to point guard last summer), and that's why I think this will work, because he's willing to do whatever it takes to win. And in any system, whether he's off the ball or on the ball or whatever, he's going to be phenomenal, because he was before I got here. I mean, he had great years. He was …second in the running (for MVP two seasons ago). He was second this year, (and) by adding another player it's not going to take anything from him because he can adapt to the situation and so that's what makes me excited.”

On whether Morey will be able to land a third star…

“I can't (discuss it), because — for one — I don't think I'm allowed to talk about anything. And two, I don't know anything. It kind of fits hand in hand. You know what, I trust Daryl explicitly. This is his job, as he trusts me to coach, and it's my job. I might go in and say, 'I like this guy. I like that guy.' Or I'll give him suggestions, like he'll tell me, 'Oh yeah, I like this. I like that.' We'll play off each other, but it just works so much better when you trust the general manager and the general manager trusts you. We stay in our lanes, by and large.

On his history with Paul…

“We started in Japan, and then went to China and then went to London, so yeah we had a bunch of summers together. I can tell you, I talked to Chris after the trade went down. I gave him a call, (and) it was the first time I'd talked to him since saying 'hi' to him during a game or something. You know, he's the reason that my son, Michael — who just graduated from Wake Forest — and Chris Paul is the reason. During one of the Olympics, he was the one that rebounded for Chris a lot, and Chris (who went to Wake Forest) talked to him into going to Wake Forest. He talked about what a great school it is, and he was right. So we've had this bond for a long time. I'm so excited to be able to coach him, and I can't wait.”