Chris Paul on Houston’s P.J. Tucker: ‘Unsung hero of the NBA’

Chris Paul used Saturday’s All-Star Media Day to endorse P.J. Tucker in his quest for a contract extension with the Rockets.

Count former Houston point guard Chris Paul among those who believes current Rockets center P.J. Tucker deserves a contract extension, which he’s been seeking since last offseason.

Paul and Tucker have been friends since childhood, and they played together from 2017 through 2019 with the Rockets, before Paul was sent to Oklahoma City last offseason in the trade for Russell Westbrook.

Speaking at Saturday’s All-Star Media Day in Chicago — where Paul, Westbrook, and James Harden all took part, since they’re each playing in Sunday’s All-Star Game — Paul had this to say when asked which player taught him the most over his recent time in Houston.

I think the person that I probably learned the most from was P.J., P.J. Tucker, who was like my brother, man. He’s so selfless, gives himself up night in and night out. P.J. is like the unsung hero of the NBA, you know what I mean? He’s not going to be on the stat sheet with all this different type stuff.

Shoutout to P.J., though. He just got — I think they guaranteed his last year. He needs an extension. That’s all the man want. The man play every night and can’t get an extension.

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The 6-foot-5 Tucker, who is now Houston’s starting center as part of a recent transition to a smaller lineup, will make just short of $8 million next season. Less than half of that final year’s amount was previously guaranteed under the terms of his four-year, $32-million contract, which Tucker signed with the Rockets in July 2017.

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In three seasons in Houston, Tucker is averaging 6.9 points (37.2% on 3-pointers) and 6.0 rebounds in 32.0 minutes per game. Though he’s one of the team’s older players at 34 years old, he’s the only Rocket to play in every game in both the regular season and playoffs over those years.

He’s widely regarded as one of the NBA’s best and toughest defenders, and also one of the top leaders in the Houston locker room.

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But Tucker will also be 36 years old when his current deal expires in mid-2021. That will make him older player by NBA standards, which in turn makes extending the contract far in advance a risky proposition for GM Daryl Morey and Houston’s front office.

The Rockets apparently weren’t willing to do it last offseason, when they were two seasons away from knowing how well Tucker’s game will have aged at the expiration of his current contract.

“I have found you don’t really get to an agreement with what both sides are looking at … until you are one year out,” Morey said in September, when asked about a potential Tucker contract extension.

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But it’s possible their thinking in the 2020 offseason could be different, once the contract is only a year away from its expiration date. And even though Paul is no longer a Rocket, the 10-time All-Star took advantage of Saturday’s availability to sneak in one last endorsement for his old friend.