Chris Paul will go down as one of the best point guards in NBA history. This July he re-signed with the Los Angeles Clippers on a one year deal. Shortly before the start of the season he announced that this would be his final year in the NBA, giving him a retirement tour of sorts. In a somewhat shocking turn of events, Paul was sent home from the team earlier this week due to conflicts with management and coach Tyronn Lue.
Paul joining another team may end up being a complicated matter. NBA rules prohibit teams from trading players signed the previous summer until December 15th, so a trade cannot happen until at least then. The Clippers also find themselves in a roster crunch where they cannot drop below 14 players until December 22nd due to minimum roster requirements. Regardless, I don’t think Paul would want his career being sent home from losing team in early December.
The stats may say otherwise, but I do think Paul can still be a quality addition to a contending team. He averaged 2.9 points and 3.3 assists in 16 games this year for the Clippers, with no starts. But lets put all that aside and assume the Clippers were probably not the best team for Paul to begin with. They are a disfunctional team with the third worst record in the western conference. They also have the Kawhi Leonard scandal looming.
I think Paul would fit in well on the Cavaliers. Darius Garland has been in and out of the lineup, and Lonzo Ball is probably not playing in any back to back games this season. With the emergence of Craig Porter Jr and Sam Merrill, it is not like Paul would have to play heavy minutes. Playing 10-15 minutes a night would suit Paul just fine. There may even be nights where he doesn’t need to play at all. The benefits of acquiring Paul would extend off the court as well. He would be a great mentor to Craig Porter Jr, Tyrese Proctor and Jaylon Tyson.
The Cavaliers have made similar moves before. Before the 2021-2022 season they traded for Ricky Rubio, who thrived coming off the bench for a young squad that made a huge leap. After Rubio tore his ACL, the Cavaliers traded for Rajon Rondo, another veteran point guard. I believe both of these players had an impact on those young Cavaliers teams. Chris Paul could have that same effect on this squad.
The post The Case for Cavaliers acquiring Chris Paul. appeared first on Cleveland Sports Talk .