His defense has dramatically dipped with age - he isn't the Dennis Schroder-type menace anymore. His midrange acumen won't exactly help their spacing. He's an accurate shooter but does his best work with the ball in his hands, like LeBron (see: Russell Westbrook - the Clippers may be a better fit for CP3). He likes to play (very) slow the Lakers don't. The case against Paul: He annually breaks down in the playoffs and played 59 games last season. He could run the second unit with AD when LeBron sits, and that pick-and-roll combo would be deadly. Paul, LeBron, and Austin Reaves would give the Lakers three exceptionally high IQ creators. A disciplined conductor of a half-court offense who would take ball-handling pressure off James as a secondary playmaker (the Lakers struggled in the half-court last season). The case for Paul: A close pal and former Olympic teammate of LeBron Jame - they'd be stoked to play together. If he's waived, he could also sign with the Lakers outright. Per the latest intel from Yahoo's Jake Fischer, it's not out of the realm of possibility that the Lakers could sign-and-trade Devin Booker's buddy Russell for Paul, then waive Paul and re-sign at the veteran's minimum, thereby clearing $30 million from their books. (For a comprehensive primer on the Lakers' offseason, go here.) Chris Paul Let's use the latest juicy offseason scuttlebutt to assess the point guard options for the 2023-24 Lakers. Both his former team, the Clippers, and his good friend LeBron James' current team, the Lakers, are in win-now mode with vacancies at point guard. Should Paul hit free agency, all eyes will be on Los Angeles, where Paul and his family live. The Suns could Paul and re-sign him at the veteran's minimum (Woj reported that his preference is to stay in Phoenix). Notably, deploying the stretch provision prohibits a franchise from re-signing that player. If he's waived before, the Suns are on the hook for $15 million, which they can stretch over five years. In sum, Phoenix and Paul are in dialogue about whether the 38-year-old will be waived before June 30, when his $30 million contract for 2023-24 becomes fully guaranteed. On Wednesday, three of the NBA's highest-profile scoopers nearly simultaneously shared reports on the status of Paul and the Suns. Breaking: Chris Paul may or may not be on the Phoenix Suns next season.
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