Rumor: Chris Paul doesn’t plan on taking paycut for Rockets

I don't know how MDA played Nash till he was 69, but he and CP3 will have to learn how to pace themselves if the Rockets are forced into a 5 yr deal.

 

Harden will be asking for a trade in 2 years mark this down. Harden knows his reign as top dog of this team is almost complete. Especially if by chance the Rockets are able to get Lebron. At this point he's willing since he has his MVP in the Bag! These next 2 years is all about Chips! If Morey still around he's going to trade Harden to the highest bidder!

 

I’ll be sure to mark that on my calendar lol

 

Exactly

If his priority is to get PAID first no matter what, then why not opt out last year (a full year younger than now)?
Why not take the Clips $ on full MAX extension, then work your way to another team at deadline or this offseason?

I see the CP3 FA Priority List as follows:
- Contender
Ready to win NOW with legit shot to beat GS in playoffs
- Banana Boat Reunion
Somewhere with enough of a core in place to attract LBJ and / or Melo
- $$$
Of course he wants to get paid on what will probably be his last multi-year deal approaching anything near MAX
- Starting PG
I can't see him landing anywhere he would come off the bench at this point in his career

How many places offer all of that?
For my money, if he leaves HOU, I see Philly as the obvious choice for CP3
The Spurs could make a lot of sense, but only if Pop & Kawhi work things out for a happy return
The Lakers are probably the only other spot that makes sense, assuming LBJ or PG13 agree to join Paul in LA

29 teams outside of HOU
Time to whittle them down

Let's start with last year's playoff teams that already have a Star PG & no cap room for a MAX: (7)
GS - Not with Curry entrenched & already the highest luxury tax penalty
BOS - Ditto Kyrie & zero cap space (-$6M)
TOR - Lowry & (-$27M)
PORT - Lillard & (-$13M)
WASH - Wall & (-$24M)
MIN - Teague & (-$15M)
MIL - Bledsoe & (-$2M)

Now let's eliminate the lotto teams still years away from real contention: (8)
CHI ATL SAC DAL BRK ORL NYK
CLE - Assuming LBJ bolts of course

Next we can eliminate teams in Cap Hell with personal/positional conflicts and zero upside: (6)
MEM - Conley & (-$5M)
LAC - Doc & (-$12M)
DET - Blake & (-$17M)
CHA - Kemba & (-$19M)
MIA - Dragic & (-$19M)
OKC - Russ & (-$37M)


Now we are down to just 8 remaining teams
All could potentially be in the mix

They each have:
- A good, young core with at least 1 Star already in place
- Cap flexibility
- Room to potentially bring in another of CP3's BFFs

Let's break each situation down to see how & why each makes sense for Chris Paul as a FA destination:

LAL
PROs

• MAX Space - $62M to offer Paul MAX FA deal
• Banana Boat - Even after CP3, still room for another near-max star FA (PG13, LBJ)
• Lifestyle - Familiar, glamourous LA is always enticing

CONs

• Young Core - Ingram, Ball, Randle & Kouzma still another 2+ years from challenging GS
• PG Fit / Need - Lonzo's useless without the Ball

PHI
PROs

• MAX Space - $31M to offer Paul near-max
• Banana Boat - Simple renouncing holds on Redick (27.6) + Amir (13.2) clears enough cap space ($72M) to add a 2nd MAX FA (LBJ, PG13). If they get really creative, they may be able to squeeze in a 3rd BFF (Melo?) if everyday takes a little less
• PG Fit / Need - Glaring need unless Fultz explodes as sophomore like Simmons just did, but he can slide to SG anyway
• Contender - Unlike LAL, the Sixers are in the wide-open East, and their young duo are already playing at Superstar level. Plus they have excellent role players already in place (Covington, Saric)

CONs

• Pretty much nothing
• If I were LBJ or CP3's agent, I would be advising both to join Embiid, Simmons & Fultz in building GS-East while getting paid full MAX
• This is the only spot where they can have their cake ($$$) and eat it too (Rings)

PHX
PROs

• PG Fit / Need - Much like in Philly, the Suns desperately need a veteran leader like Paul to step in at PG and help this team grow
• Cap Flexibility - $13M isn't enough to sign CP3 outright to MAX, but if they can get creative with Knight, Chandler, Warren, Dudley (almost $50M combined salary) ...

CONs

• Young Core - Just like LAL, the talented core of Booker, Jackson, and Ayton (or Doncic) would need at least another year before really contending in 2020 (at the earliest)
• Losing Culture - Directionless franchise that just finished dead last in both OFF & DEF rating, and goes thru Head Coaches like sneakers

UTAH
PROs

• Cap Flexibility - $12M isn't enough to sign CP3 outright to MAX, but dumping Burks ($11.5M) plus renouncing holds on Favors ($18M) & Exum ($15M) gets them up near $65M under the cap
• Contender - 2 straight trips to the West Semis, Coach Snyder, and the league's best team DEF shows that Donovan, Golbert & Ingles are ready to win now

CONs

• Lifestyle - Salt Lake City rivals Sacto as the NBA's most difficult market to recruit star FAs
• Banana Boat - Again, even if they cleared room the room, good luck getting CP3 to take your $ to come to Utah (much less LBJ, Melo, etc)

IND
PROs

• Cap Flexibility - $8M is not much room, but they are in the unique position of having tons of flexibilty. If Thaddeus opts out ($13.8M), and they cut the non-guaranteed deals of Bogdan (10.5), Collison (10), Jefferson (10), & Lance (4.4), they could clear about $57M in cap room
• PG Fit / Need - Collison had a great year as the starter, but has been a bench player most of his career

CONs

• Contender - Oladipo is now a superstar, and Myles is a good starter, but even in the East, adding CP3 + another star FA may not be enough vs GS in the Finals
• Lifestyle - Similar to Utah in that Pacers have always had a hard time luring / keeping big stars (see: PG13)

NO
PROs

• MAX Space - Simply renouncing the holds of Boogie (27), Rondo (4), Clark (1.5), + Crawford (1.5) clears $35M to offer CP3
• PG Fit / Need - Holiday blew up in the Playoffs, but he can easily slide over to SG to accomodate CP3

CONs

• Contender - Any team with The Brow has a shot, as the #3 Blazers just found out, but I can't see how swapping Cousins for Paul suddenly vaults them to the top of the West
• History & Future - CP3 already worked his way out of New Orleans once, the Pels remain a dysfunctional franchise, and AD can bolt next year if he wants out

SAS
PROs

• MAX Space - If Gay (8.8) opts out, and Parker (23.2) + Anderson (6.5) are renounced, the Spurs can clear almost $40M to offer CP3 a full-MAX deal
• Winning Culture - Only the Pats rival the consistent 20+ years of excellence & perennial contending that Pop has built in SA, winning 5 rings along the way
• PG Fit / Need - Perfect fit for another team that desperately needs an upgrade at PG

CONs

• Contender - While history is on their side, the Spurs are coming off a disastrous season. If Kawhi wants out, Pop may not be far behind, and the leftover core of LMA, Gasol & Dejounte is nowhere near a Ship, even with Paul in the fold

DEN
PROs

• Cap Flexibility - Already $6.5M over the cap, and they still have to MAX out Jokic sometime in the next year, but they could make a nice offer to CP3 if they get a lucky. Maybe both Chandler (12.8) + Arthur (7.5) opt out, or they find a taker to dump Faried (13.8). If they then renounced Harris (8.4) + Barton (6.7), the resulting $30M in cap room could be enough
• PG Fit / Need - Yet another borderline playoff team in the West with a glaring need to upgrade at PG

CONs

• Contender - Jokic, Millsap, Harris & Murray somehow missed the playoffs, raising serious questions about whether this team can commit enough on DEF to truly contend

 

Asking for a trade, or traded in a coldhearted fashion like Danny Ainge did to KG and Paul Pierce? Les never had stomach for rebuild, but does Tilman? Perhaps Front Office is thinking, we can be contenders as long as CP3 is contributing at a star level. when he starts to fade, Harden will still be a major contributor locked into a long term contract, ie he will have trade value. Perhaps once Rockets get capped out and have no way of getting better, they will trade Harden to jumpstart rebuild, waive Paul so he can ride off into the sunset on a contending bench somewhere, pick up draft picks until Paul's salary comes off books and then go star hunting again and start the lovely process over...

 

I dont understand why money matters to cp3 or lebron that much. Lebron is already is at a Billion with his nike contract. CP3 just wants a ring, but sacrifices must be made. CP3 needs to take less money and sign with the rockets/spurs if he really wants a ring or he is going to end up like Stockton.

 

This post is so delusional. Lebron isn’t coming here with no CP3 on the roster, period. What makes u think Paul George would want to come here with no CP3 either? CP3 is what elevated us to being a 65 win team, and his loss is what prevented us from winning a title this year. How many times does it have to be said that by far the most likely method for adding another star to this team is via opt-in and trade, and that CP3 taking or not taking the max doesn’t impact that scenario in any way? It’s literally been posted at least 10 times in this thread alone...

 

CP3's deal was probably already in place when he agreed to the sign'n trade to come over. A wind and a Nod trade till it can be official. Just have to wait and see what it is.

 

Nice breakdown that I haven't seen yet, but is very necessary for us to take a hard look at so we know our positioning.

I still think there will be other orgs. that become players after trades (I think there is going to be a busy July with a TON of trades to maneuver cap), but right I think LAL, and Philly look like the biggest players for CP3. I would be surprised if a Vegas wager didn't have them higher than Houston if there is a wager out there closer to free agency.

One thing I think will happen is more than a few teams (namely Spurs, and Miami) will be extremely active on draft night to move players like Dragic, Patty Mills, Gasol, etc. not just to pursue CP3 as a first option but to pursue Paul George, and maybe Lebron. But those teams will have CP3 as a backup to pursue if they can't land a Paul George. I think that's a big risk for the Rockets losing out on CP3 returning when he gets a max offer he cannot refuse.

 

What does CP3 taking less money accomplish this summer when the Rockets will still have no cap space and aren’t looking to add another star via signing them with cap space? He already took less money last summer by agreeing to an opt-in and trade. He would’ve easily gotten a max deal last summer, and he even agreed to reduce his trade bonus from 3.6 mil to 661K when getting traded here. He doesn’t have to take less again. Morey can still get another star here without him having to take less. Maybe he’ll take less this summer, maybe he won’t.

 

I think the issue is the number of years, not the money. He'll be 38 years old at the end of the last year of his contract. He would be making $47 million dollars in the last year of his contract when he's 38 years old...

Having said that... if we have a real window here to win a championship, I say go for it.

 

yeah, the last 2 or 3 years of his deal would be terrible, but that’s the price u pay to keep a superstar, especially a superstar that’s as impactful to your team as CP3 has proven to be

it’s just dumb when people say “oh, let’s get rid of CP3 and sign Paul George instead” or “CP3 needs to take a paycut or we can’t get Lebron”

 

Tbh if Chris Paul is really demanding this I’ll lose a little respect for him.

1. He’s made his money

2. Not a max still means millions

3. I thought he wanted his ring?, him only taking a pay cut helps the team get more abd better players

4. He’s 33 and injury prone, despite him getting offered max contracts he’s only going to be a max player for what 1-2 years? Before his age catches him. I’m sure he’ll still be good into old age but no where near the same plus Idk if the injuries will pile on

 

If they really want "everyone" to maximize his salary, then they should do away with max contract. It has been proposed countless times that it would be the only way to stop superteams.

But the Players Union will never agree because it would annihilate the "middle class" players' incomes.

 

whether he takes less or not which remains to be seen, cp3 deserves every bit of the money especially if you want to compare it to all these other fake "stars" getting max money. cp3 is an actual star who impacts winning at the highest level. lose respect for him? yeah thats a bit much and pretty bad considering what he did for houston as a favor to begin with. people need to stop looking at cp3 with their own selfish ideas, especially when he's shown no signs of selfishness since hes made the move here to houston

 

"Chris, how about we let the open market decide for you" - Morey

 

Breaking news... CP3, PG13 and Lebron all sign with the Lakers

 

Going to Championship does have a narrow window, and we are in the top to chase. Go for it Rockets, time is now. Deal with re-building when that time comes, but I hope for several championships before Rockets get to that point. You just have to go for it if you really have a chance. And the Rocket do have that chance - Now.

 

What if CP3 take a pay cut and join the Warriors lol.

 

There's only one cupcake in the league.