Chris Paul is available; whether that’s free agency or trade is unknown.
Multiple reports are suggesting that the Phoenix Suns seem likely to move on from Paul and that he will probably don a new jersey this upcoming season, his fourth team in six seasons.
PointsBet Sportsbook offered odds on Paul’s next team shortly after reports floated throughout the league that he would be released or traded.
Those odds have since been pulled thanks to new reports explaining that Paul could still return to the Suns if he is released and then later resigned.
The situation is very fluid and can change at a moment’s notice as the 2023 NBA Draft nears on June 22.
Paul’s contract becomes fully guaranteed on June 28, Zach Lowe explained on his podcast “The Lowe Post,” with Bobby Marks as a guest.
At that point, he will be owed $30.8 million for this upcoming season.
If Paul is waived before that June 28 deadline, the Suns would only owe him half of that, roughly $15.8 million, according to Spotrac.
At which point, there is a roadmap where he returns to the Suns at a lower overall salary cap figure, but they maintain that this is an unlikely outcome.
“There was a meeting between Chris Paul and his representatives, and they kind of outlined what this offseason is going to look like,” Marks explained. “You can stretch him over five years. It’s a $3.2 million cap hit. You are not allowed to resign him; that’s part of the rules, and that gives you access to the bigger exception. Your $12.2 million non-tax mid-level exception that you can split up into however many players you want.”
Lowe concluded, “The meeting does not appear to have gone well,” he said.
With Paul clearly available, let’s take a look at what Chris Paul’s next team odds look like, not including Phoenix.
