NBA Rumors: LA Lakers Could Sacrifice Multiple Players To Acquire Chris Paul This Summer, Per ‘CBS Sports’
Though they have managed to surpass expectations in the 2019-20 NBA season, the Oklahoma City Thunder are still highly expected to explore trading veteran point guard Chris Paul once again in the 2020 offseason. Paul has undeniably made a huge impact on the Thunder this season, but with his age, he’s clearly an odd fit with their long-term plans. Compared to the previous summer, Paul has succeeded to revive his trade value and proved everyone in the league that he can contribute to teams aiming to win the NBA championship title.
Once Paul becomes officially available on the trading block this summer, several NBA teams in dire need of a boost at the point guard position are expected to express a strong interest in acquiring him from the Thunder, including the Los Angeles Lakers. According to Sam Quinn of CBS Sports, trading for Paul makes a lot of sense for the Lakers as he would immediately address their need of a second-ball handler to play alongside the superstar duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Though he’s no longer in his prime, Paul remains a very reliable scoring option, playmaker, and perimeter defender. This season, the 35-year-old floor general is averaging 17.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 1.6 steals while shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 36.2 percent from beyond the arc. With the presence of his close pal and co-member of the infamous Banana Boat Crew, James, in Los Angeles, Paul won’t have a hard time making himself comfortable on the Lakers’ roster.
However, despite what he could contribute for the Lakers in the 2020-21 NBA season, acquiring Paul from the Thunder won’t be an easy task for the Lakers. As Quinn noted, in the potential blockbuster deal with the Thunder, the Lakers would need to sacrifice multiple players just to match Paul’s massive salary.
“With Paul’s 2020-21 salary set at $41,358,814, the magic number they would need to reach would be $33,087,051.20 in outgoing salary (80 percent). It would cost a fortune in depth, but the Lakers can hit that number provided those options are picked up. Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green and Avery Bradley would have to be in the deal. McGee would push it over the top, or the Lakers could package Talen Horton-Tucker and Quinn Cook (provided they guaranteed his 2020-21 salary).”
Paul would indeed be an intriguing acquisition for the Lakers this summer, but it remains a big question mark if he is worth giving up all those assets. Though Paul would help them address a major issue on their roster, trading Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green, and Avery Bradley would give them huge holes to fill at the shooting guard position and at the wing.
