NEW YORK _ Chris Paul said the suggestions that he's joining the Knicks are a diversion from the franchise's latest embarrassing episode.
While walking into Madison Square Garden before Friday's game against New York, the Thunder guard was approached by a league employee and asked about the rumors.
"They're trying to take attention away from that Spike Lee stuff," Paul responded as the exchange was caught on SNY.
Paul led the Thunder to a blowout win over the Knicks on Friday night. Oklahoma City won, 126-103, behind 21 points and 12 assists from Paul. Elfrid Payton led the Knicks with 18.
Paul did perpetuate the idea of him with the Knicks by going directly to the court and hugging Knicks president Leon Rose pregame. The two hugged and posed for a photo.
"I'm going to run in there and run back out," Paul said beforehand. "I want to take a picture with Leon."
Asked if he could recreate the photo for those who missed it, Paul responded, "I don't want to get in trouble."
Rose served as Paul's agent until he took the Knicks job last week, and the two obviously share a close bond. The Knicks rumors are a product of that relationship, with SiriusXM host Frank Isola reporting Thursday that the Knicks "are gathering intel on the All-Star and could make a run at him this summer."
Acquiring Paul via trade would come with a huge cap hit since he's guaranteed about $85 million the next two seasons. It also creates a win-now environment since Paul is 34 years old. That's a big leap for the Knicks, who, as constructed, aren't close to contention.
But they certainly have the assets to pull off a trade. They can have roughly $45 million in cap space this summer or could use the team options on multiple players _ Bobby Portis, Elfrid Payton, Wayne Ellington and Taj Gibson _ to match salaries on a trade. That scenario is a big reason the Knicks didn't buy out those players before the deadline.
Paul is enjoying a renaissance season while averaging 17.5 points, 6.7 assists and 4.9 rebounds before Friday. He also has carried the young Thunder to a playoff spot in the difficult Western Conference.
The Knicks had a chance to trade for Paul last summer from the Rockets but viewed his contract as too prohibitive. That was a mistake. In addition to Paul, the Thunder acquired two first-round picks and two potential pick swaps. The Knicks hoped to develop Dennis Smith Jr. into their starting point guard, but that was a dud from the season opener.
Now the Knicks would have to throw in assets _ not acquire them _ for Paul.
He obviously isn't buying it. Paul's reference to Spike Lee was about the famed filmmaker arguing with security over which entrance he was allowed to use at the Garden. Lee said he's being targeted by Dolan and the Knicks called his version of the events "laughable."
