Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Chris Paul has been the center of attention lately.
That’s because he has been at the head of the rumor mill and has been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers.
After reports of Paul wanting to play for a contending team and not wanting to join the Lakers, the latest rumor has surfaced.
According to Ryen Russillo, Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard recruited Paul almost immediately.
“The Clippers are definitely interested in Chris Paul,” said Russillo. “The math doesn’t really make any sense and Paul has basically told any of the teams that are interested in trading for him, ‘Hey, I don’t want you trading your player for me. I want to just come and join you.’ But that’s really hard when you’re making over $40 million a year and another year for $40 million plus for next year. So Paul’s not taking any kind of buyout for Oklahoma City to then try and make up the money somewhere else because I don’t know that the buyout would make a ton of sense for anybody involved, even if the buyout were really high and then Paul went ahead and made extra money.
“Here’s something that did surprise me because it just feels like Kawhi is this distant, mythological creature that doesn’t talk with anybody. Apparently, Kawhi reached out to Chris Paul immediately and was like, ‘Hey, you should come here.’ So that part is real, the pursuit is real, the interest and the math on it from Paul’s standpoint doesn’t seem to be all that realistic.”
Paul being bought out and then joining the Clippers doesn’t sound too realistic at the moment. But a trade could theoretically happen if the Clippers were willing to part with a multitude of assets.
The 35-year-old point guard would bring with him one of the brightest minds in the association, along with the ability to perform in the clutch, and most importantly, a veteran leadership that the Clippers were so desperately seeking this past season.
The Clippers failed to reach the 2020 Western Conference Finals after blowing a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets.
