When Chris Paul was brought in to Oklahoma City as part of the trade for Russell Westbrook, the belief was that Paul wouldn’t be staying.
Whether it was Paul wanting out or the Thunder’s front office wanting to unload the veteran guard, CP3 was never supposed to be long for Oklahoma City.
But here we are, more than halfway through the season, and there Paul is, still on the sideline for OKC.
While there has been some chatter around the league regarding potential trades for his teammates, Steven Adams and Danilo Gallinari, there have been crickets when it comes to talk about moving Paul.
Paul insists that neither he nor his agents have asked for a trade. He also acknowledges that he does want an NBA Championship before his career is over.
So what’s getting a championship ring worth to Paul? Apparently not more than $44.2 million.
In a recent interview with Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated, Paul said there was no way that he would consider declining his player option to help facilitate a trade.
Paul is not going to make any grand sacrifices to place himself on another superteam. When asked whether he would waive the final year of his contract—a $44.2 million option for 2021–22 that’s seen as the biggest obstacle for teams interested in acquiring him—if it meant he could be traded to a championship contender, Paul answers swiftly: “No chance. That’s not happening. Nope.”
Paul maintains that he’s happy in Oklahoma City. $44.2 million worth of happy. And he doesn’t seem to be in a rush to go anywhere any time soon.
