clipperlover wrote:Quake Griffin wrote:clipperlover wrote:
Is he $38.5M good this year, $41.4M good next year and $44.2M good in 2021-22?
No one is saying Chris Paul isn't talented. The issue is how much is that talent worth. He will impress OKC this year, so they don't try to ship him off before the trade deadline next season.
Chris is making more this year than Kawhi is scheduled to make in 2021/22. Chris hasn't even been in the MVP voting since 2015/16.
I would take him and pay him at that rate if I could pair him with Kawhi.
I'd much rather it be him and Kawhi going at this than Kawhi and PG.
Nonetheless, I said this from jump that I thought his game would age well in this mid 30s ala Nash and that he could still be elite during this part of his career. I said this in 2017 when him and Blake were up for extensions and Chris ended up choosing Houston.
I would have taken him as career Clipper, put his number in the rafters and lived with the results in the end.
And he will be in the MVP voting this year.
Maybe with a sympathy vote for 3rd place. The guy isn't even in the top 10 for consideration. The guy had a lower PER than Zubac, wasn't even in the top 15 for assists. He isn't currently a top 10 player in the game. He has been paid for the past and not for what he can do going forward. 2nd worst contract in the NBA (John Wall takes that title).
Paul wasn't able to get traded from OKC this year because a new team would have been gutted to make the salary work. However, it might make sense for Elton Brand to explore a package for Chris Paul in the off season centered around Simmons. Could be a win-win for both teams.
Russell Westbrook's (who he had a better PER than) contract is worse.