James Harden: Chris Paul ‘didn’t seem happy’ at start of offseason

James Harden’s intervention was vital in bringing Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets.

Harden was more than happy to bring Paul in to join him in the Rockets backcourt — in fact, he reached out, sensing that the point guard was not entirely happy with his situation in Los Angeles.

“I just knew that in the summertime obviously (Paul) was a free agent, and I wanted to see where his head was,” Harden said, via Sam Amick of USA Today. “He didn’t seem happy, so after that we just took it from there.

“Obviously Golden State has been in the Finals and won two out of three, so that’s what everybody is trying to build up against. But we’re right there. We’re right there. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do, but it definitely puts us in a better chance.”

It’s a good start that there was clear motivation on both sides to get Harden and Paul together, and there may yet be more help on the way. Paul’s unhappiness was apparently pretty blatant. Houston may solve that.