The Houston Rockets have been one of the busiest teams this offseason revamping their roster with several new pieces to the puzzle.
One of these new acquisitions was veteran forward P.J. Tucker, who has agreed to a four-year deal worth $32 million with the Rockets. During his introductory press conference on Thursday, Tucker revealed an incredible story about his new teammate James Harden.
PJ Tucker says after the season was over he ran into @JHarden13 who told him: "You're coming to Houston." #Rockets pic.twitter.com/gMhX3iXFbT
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) July 6, 2017
“Right after we lost in the playoffs, I was in Atlanta and I ran into James and I told him a story. Then James goes ‘You're coming to Houston.' I was like ‘man get out of here.'
He was like ‘I'm serious. We are trying to get you.' So when the day came and we were actually on the phone and I was telling him the story then he was like ‘oh really.' Then Chris called the day before, it kind of just blew together. There were some things going on. They had things on and I had things going on. and when things finally came together it made sense for me.”
This may have shed some light on the internal thinking as Harden appears to have had an inkling on the Rockets' offseason plans even before the season ended. Tucker could have been identified as an early target in free agency.
There was a much larger plan at play for the Rockets' roster that Harden was clearly well aware of even before the offseason began, which also sheds light on the Chris Paul situation playing out much sooner.
Tucker could immediately step into a significant role with his new team either off the bench or in the starting lineup when needed to be a defensive presence and provide veteran leadership. In his six seasons in the NBA, the 32-year-old has averaged 7.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 27.9 minutes per game.
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