NBA Rumors: Chris Paul To Bucks ‘Highly Unlikely’ To Happen In 2020 Offseason, ‘The Athletic’ Reports
After they got eliminated by the Miami Heat in the second round of the 2020 Playoffs, rumors linking the Milwaukee Bucks to Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Chris Paul started to heat up once again. To keep the face of the franchise, Giannis Antetokounmpo, happy in Milwaukee, they should show that they are serious about surrounding him with quality players that could help the team fully dominate the Eastern Conference and capture the Larry O’Brien Trophy next year. Though he’s older, Paul is still a better player than Eric Bledsoe and would give the Bucks a massive upgrade at the point guard position.
However, bringing CP3 to Milwaukee won’t be easy. Aside from giving up previous trade assets to convince the Thunder to engage in a trade deal, the Bucks would also need to sacrifice multiple players to match Paul’s massive salary. With the cost of adding him to the roster, a source inside the Bucks’ organization who spoke to Eric Nehm and Sam Amick of The Athletic believes that the Paul-to-Milwaukee rumors are “highly unlikely” to happen in the 2020 offseason.
“As for the reported prospect of the Bucks pursuing Oklahoma City point guard Chris Paul as a possible solution to the roster deficiencies, sources with knowledge of ownership’s thinking said it is highly unlikely,” The Athletic reported, as quoted by Brendon Kleen of Uproxx. “The cost of bringing him aboard — Paul is owed $41.3 million next season and has a player option worth $44.2 million in the 2021-22 campaign — and the potential difficulty of bringing Paul onto a roster already led by a strong personality in Antetokounmpo seems to limit the chances of the Bucks moving to pair the two All-Stars. All indications are that the Bucks would rather look elsewhere.”
It would undeniably be interesting to see Paul running pick-and-roll with Antetokounmpo next season, but he may not be worth the price that the Bucks will need to pay. Trading for Paul wouldn’t only require them to give up several players and future draft picks, but it would also consume a huge chunk of their salary cap space and bury them deep in luxury tax.
Also, it would be a huge risk for a legitimate title contender like the Bucks to entrust their future to an aging veteran who suffered numerous injuries like CP3. Instead of targeting Paul, they are better off going after younger and cheaper floor generals who are expected to be available on the trade and free agency market this fall.
