Chris Paul On The Move?
The Phoenix Suns met with veteran and future hall-of-fame point guard Chris Paul to discuss his future with the team. A release is the most likely option, but depending on interest in a trade could also be involved. Paul was on the Suns for three seasons, earning his eleventh and twelve career All-Star selections, along with his first NBA Finals appearance in 2021 losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games.
Rumored Teams Interested
There was a report going around that the Golden State Warriors and the New York Knicks are interested in Paul. The 38 year-old point guard would be playing for his sixth team in his career.
Should Knicks Go After Chris Paul?
The Knicks for many reasons should stay away from signing Paul. For starters, at just 38 and the Knicks not close to contending, the move does not make sense for either side. CP3 displayed his first signs of regression this year, averaging only 13.9 points
Also, the Knicks already have their franchise point guard in Jalen Brunson. Brunson is coming off of the best season of his career with career highs in points per game, assists, and steals. He also was 12th in the league in fouls drawn against and was top five in offensive fouls drawn.
A backcourt of Brunson and Paul would be very undersized with Paul being 6’0 175 pounds and Brunson listed at 6’2 190. They also both are not great defenders as Brunson’s defensive rating was 117.3 and Paul’s was 112.3 this past season. In addition, RJ Barrett is also a bad defender with a defensive rating of 117.7.
If they were all on the Knicks next season that would be a recipe for disaster. Though the Knicks will be able to score at will, they will undeniably be one of the worst defensive teams in the league.
To answer the question of should the Knicks go after Chris Paul is no. The Knicks need to add guys that can shoot and play defense which Paul cannot do either. He is not good defensively and shot just 31% from three this past season.
Where Should Chris Paul Go?
The two best landing spots for Paul is the Los Angeles Lakers and the Bucks. Paul would be a great replacement for pending free agent D’Angelo Russell. He is also close friends with LeBron James which would definitely keep LeBron happy. Also, a big three of James, Anthony Davis, and Paul would be serious championship contenders. Also, it would be funny to see Paul finally end up a Laker after his trade to the Lakers in 2011 was blocked by former commissioner David Stern.
The Bucks would be another solid option as assuming they re-sign Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton accepts his player option. Throw Paul into the mix and that would be arguably the best starting lineup in the league. Acquiring Paul would fix the Bucks two biggest problems which is playmaking and floor spacing. His 52.3% off the catch and shoot in addition to being one of the best playmaking point guards of all-time would be fun to watch.
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Brian Ramos is a contributor on Back Sports Page. Along with receiving his B.A. in Sports Communications, he has over a year of experience in the sports industry, and has interviewed a variety of people in the sports industry such as Bobby Portis, Don La Greca, Adam Schefter, and others. Ramos has a podcast on YouTube called Cut The Nets along with his co-host Jeremy Gretzer. You can find him on Instagram at @Brian.ramos0219 and Twitter at @brianramos0219.
