NFL
The Oklahoma City Thunder had a remarkable season. Picked to miss the playoffs, the Chris Paul-led team did what many labeled as the impossible. While no longer in contention for the NBA Championship in Orlando, their season was still a success. However, the cracks have begun to show with the departure of head coach Billy Donovan. The other domino that may fall could be the departure of PG Chris Paul. And the one team people have him linked to are the New York Knicks.
Please, stop those Chris Paul to the Knicks rumors. It’s just not happening.
The reason is simple. Paul has led New Orleans, the Clippers, Houston, and now OKC back to prominence during his time. Yes, it would be cool to see him do the same for the Knicks but how can he? And most importantly, why would he want to? The Knicks have been the laughingstock of the NBA for the past few years. A good part of that has to do with their owner James Dolan. No one wants to play for him.
Since 2013, The New York Knicks have gone 147-374. What high-profile free agent in their right mind would want to come to that? Last offseason, there was top speculation that the Knicks would land Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant while getting the top pick to draft Zion Williamson. Needless to say, the Knicks missed out on all three.
Irving and Durant went to rival Brooklyn and the New Orleans Pelicans landed Williamson. Now, with Paul still having $85.6m left on his contract, the rumor is that the Knicks are willing to rid themselves of young talent for the 34-year old veteran. Even if the deal was to go through, the Thunder will be the team to come out as the clear winner.
They will rid themselves of an aging, yet productive veteran with a HUGE salary cap hit and still get younger in the process. As for the Knicks, they will get a floor general they have searced for but at what cost? Losing players such as Julius Randle and Kevin Knox will hurt in the long run. Paul wants to win a championship. There is no doing that in New York. Hell, the Knicks are not even contenders to win bragging rights in their own city.
If they were to get Paul, how would that help them in the long run? Paul has a Player Option for the 2021-22 season that will pay him $44M. Are the Knicks really prepared to spend that type of money for a player who may give them one year while losing young talent along the way? That’s a gamble that even the New York Knicks would be foolish to make.
