Rumor: Kawhi Leonard wants Chris Paul to join Clippers
The Clippers need a play-making point guard, and Kawhi Leonard wants the best of the best.
According to a report from the Ryen Russillo podcast, Kawhi reached out to Chris Paul about joining the Clippers:
“The Clippers definitely interested in Chris Paul,” Russillo said. “The math doesn’t really make any sense and Paul has basically told any of the teams that are interested in trading for him, ‘hey, I don’t want you trading your player for me. I want to just come and join you,’ but that’s really hard when you’re making over $40 million a year and another year for $40 million-plus for next year. So Paul’s not taking any kind of buyout for Oklahoma City to then try and make up the money somewhere else because I don’t know that the buyout would make a ton of sense for anybody involved, even if the buyout were really high and then Paul went ahead and made extra money.
“Here’s something that did surprise me because it just feels like Kawhi is this distant, mythological creature that doesn’t talk with anybody. Apparently, Kawhi reached out to Chris Paul immediately and was like, ‘hey, you should come here.’ So that part is real, the pursuit is real, the interest and the math on it from Paul’s standpoint doesn’t seem to be all that realistic.”
Realistically, it would be very tough for Chris Paul to reunite with the Clippers; his $41,358,814 contract is absolutely massive. That being said, the NBA has always proved there's a way to make it work. The Clippers would have to be willing to give up with some pivotal pieces like Landry Shamet, Patrick Beverley for Paul.
While Paul would be the best possible play-maker for the Clippers, his skill was never an issue. The biggest issue during Chris Paul's tenure with the Clippers was his availability. More often than not, CP3 was injured. Even in the case of the Rockets, never forget that they were one hamstring injury away from potentially beating the Kevin Durant Warriors.
Would you want to see Chris Paul rejoin the Clippers?
