Chris Paul has a big decision to make this offseason contract-wise

Phoenix Suns, Chris Paul, NBA Trade Rumors
NBA Analysis Network

Reaching the NBA Finals was a big accomplishment for the Phoenix Suns this season and while they did not win their first championship, they learned a lot about themselves. Not only did they learn a lot about their young talents, but they went from being a bottom-tier team in this league to being one of the best teams in the league in a matter of three seasons. 

Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton evolving into big-time talents has definitely helped them, as has Monty Williams being a fantastic teacher and head coach, but the key difference for the Phoenix Suns is the fact that Chris Paul was their leader this year. 

Everywhere CP3 has played over the course of his now 16-year NBA career, he has made a positive impact and every team he has joined has seen a positive increase in wins and success. When he joined the Clippers in 2011, they went from a non-playoff team to being a real playoff threat and the same can be said about the Rockets in 2017. 

They already had James Harden on this roster, but in his first season with the Rockets, Chris Paul helped lead this team to having the best record in the NBA during the 2017-18 season and helped them win 65 games, their most wins in a season in franchise history. If it wasn’t for him hurting his hamstring in the postseason that year either, the Houston Rockets really could have won the Western Conference Finals and made the NBA Finals.

READ MORE: Top landing spot for NBA’s top stars in trade rumors

Chris Paul is a major success story in the NBA and while this year may have been his best chance to win a championship, it may not be his last. At 36-years-old now, the clock is ticking for Paul and the end of his career could be in sight, but he remains focused on one goal — winning.

After losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Finals, Chris Paul was asked about his future and if retirement was a possible option. “It will take a while to process this or whatnot, but it’s the same mentality,” Paul stated after the Bucks won the NBA Finals. “Get back to work. I ain’t retiring, if that’s what you’re asking. That’s out. So, back to work.”

The future Hall-of-Fame point guard seems dialed in to get “right back to work” as he stated, but will this be in Phoenix? Chris Paul has a $44.2M player option for the 2021-22 season and there is a lot of speculation that he could opt out of said contract. 

In the event that he does become an unrestricted free agent, the Knicks and Lakers are two teams who could show serious interest in the 11x All-Star, but it is really hard to imagine that Chris Paul would leave Phoenix. His connections to both New York and Los Angeles are strong though. 

READ MORE: Top landing spot for NBA’s top stars in trade rumors

Leon Rose is the president of the New York Knicks and helps run their front-office with general manager Scott Perry. The reason this is significant is because Rose was the co-head of the basketball division for Creative Artists Agency (CAA) before accepting his position with the Knicks. With CAA, Rose managed All-Stars like Joel Embiid, Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns and Chris Paul. 

This strong connection between Rose and Paul is definitely something to keep an eye on, but given the Phoenix Suns success this past season and Chris Paul’s love for Monty Williams, it seems very hard to believe that he would jump ship after just one season. 

The same philosophy applies to the Los Angeles Lakers, but there are other reasons why Paul could sign with them and why he will not. LeBron James is one of Chris Paul’s best friends and playing together has always been a dream of theirs. For years, James has recruited Paul to play alongside him, but things have never worked out. 

READ MORE: Top landing spot for NBA’s top stars in trade rumors

If Chris Paul was to opt out of his contract, the Los Angeles Lakers will definitely be reaching out to him and trying to pry him away from the Suns, but they really do not have anything to offer Paul. They could not pull off a sign-and-trade for him because they do not have the assets to trade away and financially, they are already close to being hard capped as a team. 

They would basically have to expect Chris Paul to take a $30M+ pay cut just to join this team, which is ridiculous to think about. The Lakers may be interested in him and he may be interested in playing with LeBron James, but to think that Paul will take this big of a pay cut is absurd. 

The most likely reason for CP3 to possibly opt out of his contract for the 2021-22 season is to restructure things with the Suns. Getting paid $44.2M would certainly be a great thing for Paul, but he has always been willing to put his team and their success over his own.

By opting out and signing a much smaller contract in the $25M-$30M range, the veteran point guard would be saving the Suns a lot of money and allow them to possibly add more talent to continue contending for a title. 

READ MORE: Top landing spot for NBA’s top stars in trade rumors

Phoenix making the NBA Finals this year was definitely not a fluke and they have proven that they are a formidable team in the league. Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton, Cameron Johnson and Mikal Bridges are all young, unique players that are going to continue getting better, so this team could very well be one or two key talents away from winning their first championship ever. 

In this year’s NBA Finals, the Phoenix Suns looked like they ran out of gas and outside of their starting unit, they were really missing a key contributor to help them offensively. By signing Chris Paul to a smaller contract, they may very well be able to add one or two key veterans to their roster that can help them in this area. 

READ MORE: Top landing spot for NBA’s top stars in trade rumors

Chris Paul’s contract decision is definitely going to be big news of the NBA offseason, whether he opts in or out of his contract, but you really should not expect him to leave Phoenix. He is happy with the Suns and he reached his first ever NBA Finals with them this past season, so there really is no reason for him to leave. 

Rumors are just rumors and while there could definitely be speculation of him joining the Knicks or Lakers in free agency, Chris Paul is going to be in a Phoenix Suns uniform to begin the 2021-22 season. He is the reason they were so successful this season and the Suns front-office are going to work with Paul this offseason on a new deal that will be beneficial to both him and the team as a whole.

Durant Leads Suns To 117-107 Overtime Victory Over Nuggets

Kevin Durant‘s clutch performance, including a game-tying three-pointer and critical points in overtime, powered the Phoenix Suns to a 117-107 win over the Denver Nuggets

Sixers Trade Proposal Lands Karl-Anthony Towns From Timberwolves

For a long time, big men dominated the NBA. Having one dominant big man wasn’t always enough. Some teams sought a pair of dominant bigs. 

Thunder Trade Proposal Lands Jerami Grant From Blazers

It’s been a good 2023-24 NBA season for the Oklahoma City Thunder. As of this writing, they’re on top of the Western Conference. That alone