The Houston Rockets have set their sights on challenging the Golden State Warriors next season after being one of the most active teams in the market this summer.

The Texas-based franchise made the biggest move of the offseason by acquiring superstar point guard Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers.

It was a major coup for the team as it will see them create one of the league's most tantalising backcourts with CP3 and James Harden.

They also brought in free agent P.J. Tucker and re-signed center Nene to bolster their ranks.

But it was the addition of Paul that took the league by surprise and was a huge statement of intent by the organisation as they gave up several players to get the deal done, including Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams.

Harden played a huge role in convincing the veteran to swap Los Angeles for Houston and he recently revealed how he recruited him.

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

It's an interesting revelation from the Beard, but it doesn't come as a shock as J.J. Redick also admitted that the Los Angeles Clippers didn't enjoy playing together last season after he joined the Philadelphia 76ers as a free agent last month.

In his introductory press conference with the Rockets, Paul also said this is the most excited he's been about basketball for a long time, which is another damning indictment on how things were at Staples Center.

The move to H-Town should give the 32-year-old a new lease of life and Harden believes the nine-time All-Star gives them a better chance of competing with the Warriors.

“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," he said. "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.”

General manager Daryl Morey has stated that their offseason dealings are not finished as they continue to negotiate a trade with the New York Knicks to acquire Carmelo Anthony.

The addition of one of the league's most elite scorers will certainly elevate their chances of making it out of the west and overcoming the juggernaut in the Bay Area.