Los Angeles Clipper point guard Chris Paul will be a free agent next summer, and he does not intend on taking a pay cut, reports ESPN’s Zach Lowe:
Steve Ballmer, L.A.’s moneybags owner, has already said he’ll pay the cost. Maxing out Griffin is a no-brainer, and the team expects Paul to demand the full five-year max (or whatever the longest possible deal ends up being in the revised collective bargaining agreement) to stick around, per several league sources. That would take him well past age 35. Gulp.
The natural assumption to most is probably that the Clippers will pay their team leader whatever he wants; he’s earned it. However, as Lowe pointed out, Paul is getting up there in age, and the Clippers have other younger big-time players who need money as well (DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin). To sign Paul to a max would be to 1) assume that he ages well, and 2) stick with your current core. To let him walk would be to go the route of building around youth. I’m not sure that there’s a wrong answer between the two options. Paul is still one of the very best players in basketball, and he has aged well thus far. Keeping CP3 around keeps the Clippers in title contention, even if only for a couple more years. On the other hand, it’s risky to give a player over 30 that much money, especially for five years. This will be a tough dilemma for the Clips.
