With Russell Westbrook on the move to the Houston Rockets, Sam Amick of The Athletic suggests that Chris Paul and the Miami Heat may have a future together.
The Russell Westbrook sweepstakes have come to a close with the Houston Rockets acquiring him via trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder for Chris Paul and a haul of draft picks. In the aftermath, the Miami Heat may be the ultimate destination for Paul as they seek to acquire another star of their own to pair up with Jimmy Butler.
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, this is a discussion that will take place between the Thunder, the Heat, Chris Paul and his representatives:
Source, to the @TheAthletic: Chris Paul's agent, Leon Rose, will talk to OKC GM Sam Presti in the coming days to determine what's next. If CP wants to go to Miami to join Jimmy Butler, it's clear there's a deal to be done there. The Thunder would engage and have interest.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) July 12, 2019
Given the conversations that have already taken place over the past few days between the Heat and Thunder, Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti has a pretty good idea of what the Heat are looking for and what they’re willing to do in order to get it.
The Heat balked at the request of two of Bam Adebayo, Justise Winslow and Tyler Herro, so perhaps the asking price would come down for Chris Paul, given that the Thunder clearly evaluate him as significantly worse than Russell Westbrook as revealed by their haul in exchange.
While Westbrook was owed $171 million over the next four years, Paul is owed a slightly more reasonable (but still onerous) $124.1 million over the next three years, with a player option worth $44 million in year three. Paul will be 37 years old when that option comes up.
Trading for Paul would also be problematic if the Heat hope to keep the books clean for the summer of 2021, which should be a free agency bonanza with players like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George potentially hitting the market. It wouldn’t be easy for Pat Riley to sit on the sidelines, handcuffed by an aging Chris Paul’s gargantuan final year salary watching stars go everywhere but South Beach.
While the Heat weren’t able to close a deal for Russell Westbrook, it appears that trade season is still upon us.