Chris Paul to sign four-year, $160 million deal to stay in Houston

Chris Paul is staying in Houston.

As soon as NBA free agency opened Sunday at midnight, the Rockets and Paul agreed to a four-year deal worth $160 million, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.

It really wasn’t in question behind the scenes that Paul would be back — after all, he had recently bought a new house closer to the city. But the length of the deal was always a mystery. Chris Paul right now is worth the max, no question. However, at 33 years old, a five-year deal, which Paul was eligible for, could have really hurt the Rockets on the tail end when he’s 37-38 years old. A four-year deal still may be problematic in the end but it is definitely less painful.

But the Rockets keep the strength of their team, their superstar guard duo, intact. The next key will be to re-sign Clint Capela.

Paul seems thrilled with the move.