Chris Paul took over the second half of Game 6 and pushed the Suns all the way to the NBA Finals.
That led people in a lot of front offices around the NBA to ask, “How much are they going to have to pay him this summer?” CP3 is the unquestioned leader of this Phoenix team, and after the season he is expected to opt-out of the $44.2 million he is owed next season and sign a three- or four-year contract worth well more than $100 million, taking a little haircut in the short-term to guarantee more money and have more long-term security. Paul’s price keeps going up with each Suns’ win.
It is widely expected he will re-sign with the Suns.
Much like with the case of Kawhi Leonard (who is widely expected to re-sign with the Clippers), teams are hoovering just in case things don’t go as expected. In Paul’s case, it is the Suns who are lurking, reports Ian Begley at SNY.TV.
As you’d expect, Paul’s name has come up internally as one of the players the Knicks could target at point guard this summer. And if Paul and Phoenix can’t reach an agreement, the Knicks certainly will have the cap space to make him a multi-year offer.
Several agents for point guards in the 2021 free agent class fear New York as a possible landing spot for Paul. Leon Rose was Paul’s agent before Rose became the Knicks president. But, again, New York would only be an option for Paul if he and Phoenix didn’t reach an agreement.
“Fear” because the Knicks need a point guard and the agents for the players at the top of this offseason’s point guard class — Spencer Dinwiddie, Kyle Lowry, Mike Conley — want that option there for their clients.
At age 36, Paul is a win-now signing, and while the Knicks are improved, they are more than one Chris Paul away from contending. New York has a lot of roster building still to go to get to that point, and if they sign Paul it changes how the franchise has to approach roster building.
This is all likely moot anyway; it’s highly unlikely Paul is leaving Phoenix. And we should probably let him chase his first ring starting next week before speculating about what is next for his career.
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Report: If Chris Paul does not re-sign with Suns, Knicks could target him originally appeared on NBCSports.com