Knicks Rumors: The latest rumblings on Chris Paul
Will the New York Knicks make a blockbuster move for Chris Paul?
We are less than one week away from the freeze on NBA trades being lifted, and the New York Knicks are being featured in plenty of headlines concerning superstar Chris Paul
Let’s get you caught up with the latest.
Is Chris Paul headed to the Phoenix Suns?
There’s a lot of chatter surrounding future Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul right now. ESPN broke a story on Tuesday that the Phoenix Suns have had discussions with Oklahoma City over a potential deal to bring Paul out West. The Suns can create around $20 million of cap space to help absorb Paul’s contract, and could become an aggressive suitor in hoping to find star talent to pair with Devin Booker.
Brian Windhorst added to his ESPN story from Tuesday during a radio appearance in Phoenix by reporting Paul has been given permission by the Thunder to talk to the Suns. Windhorst says a big part of any Paul trade depends on where the star guard wants to play, as teams acquiring him hope he becomes a recruiter of other stars.
In guessing the odds that a deal between Phoenix and OKC for Paul comes to fruition, Windhorst said “it’s over 50/50.” However, he cautioned against assuming a deal is close to happening.
What about the Knicks?
Meanwhile, Ian Begley of SNY dropped a report on Wednesday indicating that some people within Madison Square Garden are “wary of giving up too many assets in a a Chris Paul deal because they want to ensure that New York has enough capital in place for a future trade for another high-profile player.”
The Knicks have been linked to Paul for most of the summer, with various reports trying to piece together what a potential deal would look like.
Jonathan Macri of Knicks Film School has indicated that Paul prefers to play in either Los Angeles or New York and there’s an offer from the Knicks that OKC general manager Sam Presti is comfortable with, but it’s in Leon Rose’s hands to make the final decision.
NBA insiders expect the Thunder to demand a young player and/or draft picks to acquire Paul. As Bobby Marks of ESPN recently put it, “He’s not a salary dump.”
Little monkey wrench here - Just heard that OKC does not want any multi-year contracts back which if true would make this trade difficult. They have no real interest in either guy (Rubio/Oubre). Fluid situation I'll do my best to let you know what I am hearing.
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) November 11, 2020
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that the Thunder aren’t looking to take back any multi-year contracts in a trade for Paul.
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The Knicks have flexibility in what they can offer as a team with plenty of cap space, future draft picks, young assets, and players on expiring contracts (should they decide to bring back any of the players on team options or non-guaranteed deals as chips to use in a trade).
Paul has two years remaining on his contract worth over $85 million.