It’s all about leverage.
Proper now the vultures are circling the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, hoping to get a free meal. Everybody is aware of the Thunder are transferring right into a rebuilding mode and wish to commerce Chris Paul for picks/younger gamers, so different common managers — the vultures — are throwing out lowball provides hoping to get a steal of a commerce. And by steal we imply making the Thunder throw in a first-round decide as a sweetener to get CP3 and the three-years, $124 million left on his contract off their books.
Oklahoma Metropolis’s response? Say “we’re not making an attempt to commerce him” and be affected person. Right here is how Brian Windhorst phrased it on ESPN’s The Soar (hat tip Actual GM):
“Right here’s what executives anticipate to occur: they anticipate the Thunder to place out a message that we’re not trying to commerce Chris Paul…We would like him to work with our younger guys. As a result of they don’t need anyone to assume they’re panic-trying to commerce him, and so they wish to hope that any individual has one thing occur the place they want Chris Paul,” mentioned Windhorst.
Royce Younger, who covers the Thunder for ESPN, added that he believed the Thunder would maintain on to Chris Paul moderately than give up a draft decide.
That is the good play. CP3 remains to be a top-flight level guard within the NBA, even when he has taken half a step again, and there are a minimum of eight NBA groups going into this season pondering they’ve a shot at a title, and some extra deep playoff runs. Some crew is both going to understand they’re inferior to they thought they have been, or are going to undergo an harm, and be on the lookout for an All-Star degree participant and alternative. Enter the Thunder and Chris Paul.
What this in the end means is anticipate this to tug out. Not simply by way of the summer time and thru coaching camp, however possibly all the way in which to the commerce deadline.