Chris Paul would benefit New York Knicks, even after retirement

Thunder point guard, Chris Paul would be a great addition to the New York Knicks, even after he hangs up his basketball shoes.

New Knicks President, Leon Rose, is the former agent of All-Star point guard Chris Paul and because of this, trade rumors have begun to circulate involving the New York Knicks and Paul.

Chris Paul is still playing great basketball for the Thunder as he was named to the Western Conference All-Star team this year. However, he is going to be 35 by the time the 2020-21 season rolls around, meaning his career is nearing its end.

The word on the street is that Paul is still very fond of Rose and that around the trade deadline last year, Rose (then Paul’s agent) was intrigued by a trade offer that would send Paul to New York. It was reported last June that the Knicks were offered a deal that would have sent CP3 to Broadway, but New York turned it down.

The most recent development in this saga is that the Knicks are now doing their due diligence to research and look into a trade for “The Point God.”

With Paul’s retirement set to happen within the next few years, the Knicks would only land Paul on a short-term deal, and he’d be a free agent in the summer of 2022. New York would only be committed to Paul for two seasons.

The Knicks would have to take on his contract, in which Paul is owed $41.4M next season and $44.2M the season following. That’s a lot of money, but it would improve the Knicks exponentially.

Sure, the Knicks like their point guard group in Elfrid Payton, Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr., and Allonzo Trier. However, they aren’t Chris Paul, and in all honesty, it’s unrealistic to think any of the four of them could give the Knicks as much production as Paul would.

This season, Chris Paul is averaging 17.7 points per game and 6.8 assists per game with an underwhelming supporting cast in OKC. In addition to that, he is also very good on the defensive side of the ball, averaging 1.6 steals per game. With a 0.318 win percentage this season, the Knicks could, without a doubt, use somebody like Chris Paul.

To put this into perspective, the Orlando Magic are currently the eighth seed in the east with a 0.462 winning percentage. Having an All-Star point guard like Paul would catapult the Knicks into the playoff conversation. Not only that, but he’d also help develop whichever young point guards the Knicks choose to keep over the next two years.

Even if his play declines a little bit as he gets older, he won’t dip in production as much as it may seem. We’ve already seen who Paul is when he’s not at his best, and he still produces enough to help his team out.

While not at his best, Paul still scored 17.1 points per game, dished out eight assists per game, grabbed five boards per contest and notched 1.8 steals per game as well. In addition to all of that, he also held a 36.9% three-point percentage. Even at his worst, if Paul put up this kind of production for the Knicks, he would still turn them into a playoff contender in the East.

Although the Knicks would be paying Paul quite a bit of money for a player who’s only going to be on contract for two years, it seems much more realistic at this point than a deal for other star players who are linked to the Knicks in trade rumors such as Karl-Anthony Towns, Damian Lillard, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

If the Knicks were to acquire Chris Paul and become a playoff contender, New York would then become a team that high-profile free agents would consider going to, more than we have seen in the past several years.

The Knicks have learned that tanking has not worked out for them at all (or anyone except for the 76ers). They need a new approach. They won’t win a playoff series just by adding Paul, but acquiring him will show other great players that they can join CP3 and turn the Knicks into a great team.

Also, if Paul can help the Knicks get into the playoffs, future free agents and players on the trade block would take notice.

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Even after he retires, players would realize that if a player of Paul’s caliber can take the Knicks from the worst team in the league one season and a playoff team less than two years later, maybe they can too and maybe they can help the Knicks make the next step.

That, along with the Knicks having a solid fanbase, the best arena in the league, and the appeal of playing in New York City, the Knicks would finally have a chance to acquire elite players. Paul’s impact on the franchise would be exceptional, and Rose needs to use his connection with him to his advantage.

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What do you think about Chris Paul as an option for the New York Knicks? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.

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