Former NBA shooting guard JJ Redick believes Chris Paul on the Los Angeles Lakers makes sense for a lot of reasons if the future Hall of Famer isn’t back with the Phoenix Suns next season.
June 7 was a strange day on the Paul front. First, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report reported that the Suns notified CP3 he would be waived. A few hours later, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said the Suns were working through different possibilities with Paul, including trade scenarios.
Since Paul’s family lives in Los Angeles and the NBA legend has a close relationship with Lakers superstar small forward LeBron James, Paul will always be linked to the purple and gold. Redick, who played with Paul on the Los Angeles Clippers, said he would love to see Paul and Anthony Davis in the pick-and-roll game.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
If the Suns waive Paul, he becomes an unrestricted free agent and is free to sign with any team of his choice. The 12-time All-Star averaged 13.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 8.9 assists this season for the Suns while shooting 44.0% from the field, 37.5% from beyond the arc and 83.1% from the free-throw line.
Woj reported that Paul would still like to return to the Suns, who hired Frank Vogel as their new head coach after firing Monty Williams. It will be very interesting to see where Paul is playing next season, but the Lakers will likely have interest in him if he becomes a free agent since LeBron is so close to him.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
Paul is only guaranteed $15.8 million of his $30.8 million salary for next season. If he’s waived, the Suns are expected to stretch the $15.8 million over the next five seasons to create more salary cap space and open up the team’s ability to use the $12.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception.
Want the latest in NBA analysis, breaking news, and insider information? Click Here. Follow NBA Analysis Network on Twitter and Facebook.
