If the Chicago Bulls are serious about winning, they should call the Oklahoma City Thunder and ask about Chris Paul’s availability
The Chicago Bulls are discouragingly far away from winning a championship, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t try to win as much as possible. Making the playoffs is a good goal to set for a young, growing team. After that, the focus can shift to winning a playoff series. Then two. Then three. And then the Finals become relevant.
Despite being one of the most disappointing teams in the league, the Bulls actually aren’t that far away from reaching that first goal of making the playoffs.
At 35 years old, Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Chris Paul is well past his prime, but he showed during this last season that he’s still one of the elite guards in the NBA. If the Bulls could acquire him in a trade, they’d find themselves on the winning end of a lot of games sooner rather than later.
Once thought of as one of the worst contracts in the league, Paul is suddenly a valuable asset
If the Bulls were to successfully trade for Chris Paul, they’d essentially be signing up for two years of CP3. During the 2020-2021 season, he’s set to make slightly over $41 million, and the following season, if he opts into his player option, he’ll make over $44 million. Yikes.
Paying a 37-year-old point guard with the mileage that CP3 has over $44 million is a tough pill to swallow, but thanks to a sensational 2019-20 season, his contract has actually started to look more than fair. In general, it’s not a good idea to pay old point guards huge bundles of cash, but this version of Chris Paul might be the exception to that rule.
Paul seems to still have a lot left in the tank. During the 2019-20 season, he averaged 17.7 points, 6.8 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game. He frequently showed that he still possesses the ability to get to the rim whenever he wants, find his spots in the mid-range, set up teammates and take over any game down the stretch. Even though he’s not the same Chris Paul he used to be, he can still be the best player on the floor at any given time.
Even if you set aside what he brings in on-the-court production, Paul would still be a valuable asset to Chicago’s young team. His relationship with Coby White is well-documented. White played for Paul’s AAU team and Paul has served as a mentor for the young point guard as he continues to grow and mature.
Can you imagine the impact Paul would have on White’s game? That’s almost worth the $80+ million the Bulls would have to pay him alone.
There are a lot of things that would have to break perfectly in favor of the Bulls for a Chris Paul centered trade to go through, but with Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley now in charge, who knows what will happen? Paul is at least worth a phone call.