NBA Trade Rumors: New York or Los Angeles the preferred destinations for Chris Paul - Evaluating the chances of each of the four franchises
Chris Paul, known more famously as "CP3", has always been regarded as one of the top point guards in the league. With next season fast approaching as per recent reports, teams around the NBA will be working around the clock to make moves that further adds quality to their roster. In that aspect, Chris Paul is one player who has dominated the NBA Trade Rumors recently.
Even though he had a brilliant season with OKC Thunder, it is widely reported that Chris Paul is expected to move this offseason to one of the multiple teams desperately looking for an elite point guard.
NBA Trade Rumors: Chris Paul wants to play in a big market franchise preferably New York or Los Angeles
After the 2018-19 season, the Oklahoma City Thunder traded Russell Westbrook for Chris Paul while also moving Paul George to the LA Clippers for a plethora of picks and players. Post that trade, analysts gave the OKC Thunder a 0.2% chance of making the playoffs but Chris Paul inspiring leadership led the young group of talented players to a game 7 of the 1st round of NBA playoffs beating all odds.
According to Jonathan Macri of the Knicks Film School, Chris Paul wants to play in a big market again next season, and he has two cities on the top of his list,
I’ve been told by a league source that Chris Paul prefers his next basketball home to be either in LA or NY (Los Angeles is where he resides full time) and that has created some modicum of leverage in the ongoing negotiations between the sides.
Paul has proved his worth time and again, his basketball IQ and superior playmaking skills is valued around the league by GM's and Head Coaches. Which is why with Chris Paul's heart set on either playing in Los Angeles or New York, the fans of the four franchises playing in those cities do have a reason to be optimistic about getting an elite players this offseason.
But let's evaluate each possibility. Even though there are 4 teams on the top of Paul's list, can these teams afford to have him on their roster?
NBA Trade Rumors - Multiple teams chasing Chris Paul, but who has the best chance?
To start with, lets take a look at the LA Lakers, despite many NBA trade rumors linking Chris Paul with the the franchise, it seems like an unlikely destination for the 35-year-old. CP3 has $85 million left on his contract and will make $41 million next year, which means the LA Lakers will need to make massive changes to their roster in order to honor to the salary cap.
Now looking at Lakers city-rivals LA Clippers, a team in desperate need of a point guard, would love to have Chris Paul on board. However, like the Lakers, LA Clippers will also struggle to make ample room to observe Chris Paul's massive contract, especially given that they laid their cupboard bare last offseason trying to get Paul George from OKC Thunder.
Moving on to the east coast where numerous NBA Trade Rumors have linked both the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets to a plethora of stars from around the league.
Considering the Brooklyn Nets franchise has a premier point guard, Kyrie Irving, it would make little to no sense for them to trade for Chris Paul at this moment. However, neither of them are combo-guards and cannot switch to the shooting guard position, which leaves the possibility of seeing Chris Paul play in Brooklyn next season very slim.
That leaves us with the New York Knicks, a team that hasn't seen success in decades. With a valuation of $4.6 billion, New York Knicks are by far the most valuable franchise in NBA currently. However, with no success to show for years, the Knicks are more interested in rebuilding their roster and hopefully getting to the playoffs. With enough cap space on their team and the desperate need of a point guard, we should be foolish to rule-out New York Knicks as a possible destination for Chris Paul.
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