NBA Rumors- The LA Lakers are reportedly very keen on signing Chris Paul in free agency
On June 18, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported between the Phoenix Suns and the Washington Wizards, with Bradley Beal joining the Suns and Chris Paul heading to the Wizards. However, it seems that the Wizards are open to rerouting Paul to another contending team and may involve a third team in the trade.
According to Marc Stein, who was writing in a June 18 edition of his SteinLine newsletter, the Los Angeles Lakers could be a potential suitor for Paul's services.
"It is feasible to some unknown degree that the Lakers could elect to amend their plans and decide, in the end, that they do want to pursue Irving this summer," Stien wrote. "But that would be a dramatic departure from the Lakers’ current Plan A, which calls for re-signing free agents Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura and trying to sign Chris Paul as a free agent should Paul make it to the open market in the wake of his inclusion in the Beal-to-Phoenix trade."
"Haynes also reported Sunday that the LA Clippers would try to keep Paul from making it to unrestricted free agency by trading for him separately by month’s end or potentially joining the Beal-to-Phoenix blockbuster as a third team that lands Paul."
At the age of 38, Chris Paul has yet to win an NBA Championship during his illustrious career. It is likely that the veteran point guard will seek to join a championship-contending team as he aims to conclude his career on a high note.
For the Los Angeles Lakers, Paul, even at his current age, could represent an upgrade over D'Angelo Russell. Furthermore, his exceptional playmaking abilities would provide LeBron James and Anthony Davis with a new weapon that could elevate the team to another level.
Analyst wants Lakers to prioritize Austin Reaves
During a recent episode of the Bill Simmons podcast, the long-time NBA analyst shared his thoughts on why the Los Angeles Lakers should prioritize inking Reaves to a new contract over pursuing Kyrie Irving.
“Would you trade Austin Reaves for Kyrie Irving? You’d rather pay Kyrie Irving $40 million and deal with all this stuff that comes with him over young Austin Reaves?," Simmons said. "How many more disappointing years in a row does Kyrie have to have before you don’t consider him a top trade target? He’s up to six. It’s six straight years of dissension, getting hurt, or just complete chaos or him refusing to play."
Austin Reaves has been one of the Lakers' most consistent performers since being acquired by the team as an undrafted rookie two years ago. Now, following an impressive 2022-23 season, Reaves is expected to receive a significant increase in his salary as the Lakers look to tie him down to a long-term deal.
This past season, Reaves averaged 13 points, 3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 52.9% from the field and 39.8% from deep. With another summer of development, Reaves is poised to further improve his numbers in the upcoming season. Additionally, having Chris Paul on the roster could potentially elevate Reaves' game to new heights.