From $30 million a year to a salary, goodbye warriors! If you go to James, you're going to have a hard time winning the championship

Lao Liang commented

2024-06-17 22:59Posted in Shandong Sports Creators

This season in the NBA into the final stage, the Celtics and the Mavericks in the finals, the Celtics have a clear advantage, and it is only a matter of time before they win the championship. Several giant teams that have bid farewell to this season are brewing changes and breakthroughs, such as the Clippers, George is likely to defect to the 76ers for a super maximum salary, and it is difficult for Wei Shao to stay, and the Clippers can only do their best to keep Harden while looking for interior and forward roster upgrades. The Suns set out to find a point guard role, and with the Big Three of Durant + Beal + Booker unchanged, the reality can only be repaired. The Celtics dominate the East this season, which is also related to the decline of the Bucks and the Heat, and many media have suggested that the Bucks trade Lillard to find a new helper for Brother Alphabet. And the Warriors are the most moving, and they will say goodbye to many people this summer.

Klay is likely to leave the Warriors, the Magic has a lucrative offer for him, Looney is leaving the countdown, and the Warriors are trying to give young Davis more room to grow; Including Wiggins, who has completely made the team impatient, also on the trade shelf. But there's one person that's easy to overlook, and that's Chris Paul. Paul's $30.8 million team option for next season could be guaranteed if the Warriors don't make any moves before June 29. In the words of Slater, Paul was very professional and willing to cooperate with the Warriors to explore all possibilities for realization, but the market reaction was poor. The worst-case outcome is that the Warriors give up Paul's $30.8 million team option and make Paul a free agent! And Pixar predicts that once Paul becomes a free agent, he will join the Lakers with a base salary and defect to James.

Last offseason, the Warriors sent Poole away in exchange for Paul, which was itself a relegation to the roster. Paul has only played in 58 games this season, from starters to benches, averaging 9.2 points, 6.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game, shooting 44%+37% from the field. Two things are for sure, as a Hall of Fame-level point guard, Paul's leading role in the Warriors' youth is obvious, and in the first half of the season, Paul was once the player with the highest plus/minus + victory contribution in the Warriors. But Paul is 39 years old and has missed more than 20 games this season with a left-hand injury. He's a bit out of place in the Warriors' passing system. In addition, the most important thing is that Paul's salary does not match the data presented, even if Paul is able to lead his teammates, the Warriors struggle on the offensive end; And Paul has been named on the defensive end.

According to Bay Area media, Paul doesn't want to give up his $30.8 million salary next season, but the Warriors are actually in a difficult situation. First of all, Curry will be $55.76 million next season, Wiggins + Dream Green will be worth $50 million combined, Wiggins is gone, but at least he can get chips of the same value; Even if Klay leaves directly, if Paul's salary is included, the Warriors' overall salary next season will reach $175 million, which will also exceed the luxury tax line. Moreover, Kuminga + Moody are facing the pressure of renewing their rookie contracts after they expire, and the Warriors themselves are already difficult to compete for the championship under the premise that it is difficult to compete for the championship after the Kuminga era has passed, and it is impossible to spend blindly like this season, regardless of the cost investment. So Paul is basically sure that he won't get $30.8 million, and what awaits him can only be a base salary.

Second, where could Paul go? Over the past month or so, there have been a number of teams that have been involved with Paul, including the Clippers, Spurs and Suns. But Spurs have been looking for a backcourt partner who can grow with Wembanyama, such as Trae Young; And here with the Clippers, they are also targeting some veterans, such as Lowry and Paul, but the Clippers really don't need so many guards, what they lack is a forward and an interior line. Key Harden: Once the Clippers renew their contract, can Harden and Paul continue to work together as teammates to win the championship? This is especially true of the Suns, Durant and Booker, perhaps neither of them want the team to eat back, which can only prove the failure of the two of them to lead the team. The underdog team doesn't need it, maybe it can only go to James.

In a way, Paul is similar to Harden. Both of them actually have a strong ability to lead the team to keep the lower limit, Harden is 34 years old, guaranteed to be in the top four in the regular season, Paul is older, but in this season of the Warriors, he can't play his maximum value, the locker room has a stronger Dream Chase Green, and the passing system around Curry is limited. And no matter which team Paul goes to, he and Harden are players who need a lot of possession and ball handling to dominate the team's offensive system. To put it simply, once a team chooses to give Paul a base salary, it means that Paul must trust him unconditionally when he is on the court, and if Paul is only allowed to play the pitcher, it is equivalent to one less person on the court. But with the Lakers, is it possible?

The direction of the Lakers next season has not been officially determined, but one thing is certain, thick eyebrows will gradually become the team's first tactical core, Lao Zhan is about to turn 40 years old, the role of the defensive end will be declining, if Russell is determined to leave, the Lakers may have to use the next few first-round picks to find a third scoring point, but it is still far from the championship. Paul missed teaming up with Kobe Bryant at the beginning, and missed the championship due to a thigh strain during the Rockets period, including a 2-0 lead over the Bucks in the Suns Finals and was overturned by an opponent.

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