Chris Paul Was Actually Elite With James Harden off the Court Last Season

The rift between James Harden and Chris Paul that seemed to plague the Houston Rockets locker room last season is officially over. Paul was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder with future draft picks in exchange for Harden's former teammate Russell Westbrook.

But, was Paul the real issue in Houston? According to recently pulled stats, not so much. These numbers show that not only did he perform better, but the team had a higher net rating when Paul was in and Harden was out.

Harden was the obvious leader in Houston when it came to on-court performance. He led the team and NBA with 36.6 points per game this past season and was only a year removed from his MVP campaign of 2017-18.

Based on the game tape and his numbers, Harden CARRIED Houston.

Paul seemed to take on a more team leadership role, meaning he led with his knowledge and attempted control of the game at the point guard spot. His season points average was much lower than Harden's at 15.6 points per game, but his assist average topped the former MVP and ranked third in the entire league at 8.2 a night.

With those stats, Paul LED Houston.

Now, let's compare Paul's total averages with his averages without Harden and you get the full story.

His points increased to 22.5 and the assists to 12.5 per 36 minutes of play.

With Chris Paul back as a lone star in OKC, there's no doubt that these elite numbers and his elite play will show themselves once again. We'll see how things end up working out for the two sides following this trade.