Most likely offseason acquisition: Chris Paul
If you’ve heard me talk about Chris Paul over the past several weeks, you probably expected this name to rise to the top of the list. I think the Knicks are looking for a player to instantly change the vibe around the team, someone who can help their young players develop, help win them some basketball games, and bring credibility back to the organization.
Say what you want about Chris Paul and the boatloads of money owed to him over the next two seasons, he would check a lot of boxes for team president Leon Rose, who happens to be his former agent, and who reportedly tried to push for a trade to get Paul to New York two summers ago.
The Knicks can use their excess cap space to absorb Paul’s massive salary and reduce the need to send much back to Oklahoma City to make a deal work, both from a financial and fair value standpoint.
The cost associated with acquiring Paul would mostly be borne in his performance on the court—which is sort of strange to say. But if the Knicks are too good next season, but clearly not good enough to compete for anything meaningful, they reduce their lottery odds in a supposedly incredible draft.
For the Knicks, they might be less worried about landing the most ping pong balls than putting the young players already on their roster in a better position to succeed. It’s hard to develop assets on a team that is one of the worst in the league.
Oklahoma City is motived to move Paul, the Knicks are the perfect trade partner, it just seems this deal somehow gets done.