Chris Paul Doesn’t Fear Lakers

Lets Go Lakers wrote:

XXIV wrote:

Lets Go Lakers wrote:

Aonex wrote:Anyone think the chances of Paul leaving increased once we got Dwight? Clippers aren't overtaking the Lakers anytime soon, and will continue to live in their shadow.

His contract is up after this year and he's a FA if i'm not mistaken. I bet you if the Clippers don't go as far as the Lakers, he signs with the Lakers. Him and Howard would be scary.

We don't have the means to sign him until the 2014/2015 season.

Maybe i'm missing something but CP3 had 2 yrs left on his contract when he got traded. And in the offseason, he declined to sign an extension which would make him an unrestricted FA after this season. Can anyone confirm?

You're correct, and he would be a free agent before the 2013/2014 season. We won't have any cap space until after that season.

Lets Go Lakers wrote:

XXIV wrote:

Lets Go Lakers wrote:

Aonex wrote:Anyone think the chances of Paul leaving increased once we got Dwight? Clippers aren't overtaking the Lakers anytime soon, and will continue to live in their shadow.

His contract is up after this year and he's a FA if i'm not mistaken. I bet you if the Clippers don't go as far as the Lakers, he signs with the Lakers. Him and Howard would be scary.

We don't have the means to sign him until the 2014/2015 season.

Maybe i'm missing something but CP3 had 2 yrs left on his contract when he got traded. And in the offseason, he declined to sign an extension which would make him an unrestricted FA after this season. Can anyone confirm?

Yes. And we don't have the means to sign him next off-season because we'll have too much money on the books. Paul isn't going to sign for the 3.1 million we have to offer. In 2014/2015 we will have only two players on contract (Dwight and Nash), meaning we'll have more than enough money to sign anyone we want.

But until then, we have very little means to sign anyone especially someone like Paul.

^^^^^^

Does that mean there is no chance he comes here? Because i'm assuming he will sign a max contract after this season either with the Clips or some other team and the only way to get him would be via trade?

If the Clips don't go deep into the playoffs, i can see him possibly leaving.

Lets Go Lakers wrote:^^^^^^

Does that mean there is no chance he comes here? Because i'm assuming he will sign a max contract after this season either with the Clips or some other team and the only way to get him would be via trade?

If the Clips don't go deep into the playoffs, i can see him possibly leaving.

There's always a chance, especially when you have Mitch but it'll be very difficult to pull off. We might be better off just signing another free agent with whatever amount of cap space we'll have.

Lets Go Lakers wrote:^^^^^^

Does that mean there is no chance he comes here? Because i'm assuming he will sign a max contract after this season either with the Clips or some other team and the only way to get him would be via trade?

If the Clips don't go deep into the playoffs, i can see him possibly leaving.

I've posted this in a few threads.

Paul becomes a free agent this season, meaning we have no chance at signing him outright and unless he demands a trade to the Lakers, there's very little chance of him coming here next season.

What I think has a real chance of happening though is Paul signing a shorter term deal, something like 2 years with a 3rd year option that allows him to gauge a team's actions. Whether he signs with the Clippers or elsewhere (I see it being the Clippers), I believe there's a chance he opts NOT to sign a long term deal in favor of a deal forcing his team to remain competitive. Will he turn down guaranteed 3 years and a whole lot of money for a ring? I don't know and I tend to doubt it, but he's a fiery competitor and he's not going to sit around his whole career losing just to earn some more money. We saw that when he wanted out of New Orleans because they weren't successful enough. If he signs that deal (possible but unlikely) he can opt out in 2014/2015 and sign a long term deal with the Lakers to play next to Dwight who will also be signed long term.

Here's the deal with LA: in 2014/2015 they'll have only (roughly) 31 million on the books. The cap is set at something like 52 million which means the Lakers have about 21 million to work with. That'd be enough for Paul's max contract in my scenario. Yes, that'd mean Paul and Nash on the same team for that season. There wouldn't be much room for other players though so it'd be difficult to fill out the remainder of the team for that season with anything except the mid level exception (they'd have the full MLE that season) and veteran minimum contracts.

Counting Paul out of the equation, the Lakers will have a run at the following who are scheduled to expire that season (assuming these players do not sign extensions): Paul Pierce, Avery Bradley, Kris Humphries, Ben Gordon, Ramon Sessions, Luol Deng, Dirk Nowitski, Shawn Marion, OJ Mayo, Andre Iguodala, Rodney Stuckey, Greg Monroe, Andrew Bogut, Richard Jefferson, Brandon Rush, Patrick Patterson, Danny Granger, Monta Ellis, Larry Sanders, Al-Farouq Aminu, Evan Turner, Marcin Gortat, Demarcus Cousins, Aaron Brooks, Kyle Lowry, Ed Davis, Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward, and John Wall.

We could sign either one a few of those guys. Many of them are young and many of them would be much cheaper than Chris Paul. Say the Lakers signed Wall to a maximum contract: he'd sign for around 14 million dollars and the Lakers would have about 6 million to spend elsewhere before they even reached the cap limit. Say they signed a guy like Iguodala to a 12 million dollar deal (maybe not likely) and a guy like Lowry to an 8 million dollar deal. That'd give you Lowry/Nash/Iguodala/Howard and maybe a cheaper Gasol for your core in 2015.

Basically the Lakers are going to have a lot of options in 2015 and while Paul may not be one of them, there will certainly be some notable names available.

And just to further blow your mind, say the Lakers don't target Wall in 2014/2015 and instead let Nash play one more season while signing other swing men... The Lakers may have a shot at Kyrie Irving in 2015/2016.

^^^^^

Thanks for the explanation. I would absolutely love to have CP3 and Howard. That would literally mean that 2 of the top 5 players in the NBA would be on the same team. You just need to add in some solid pieces to do big things with those two. Heck, just Paul on any team is an instant playoff contender.

If Paul signs a contract, it will surely not be an extension. This means if he re-signs, it will be next summer. Won't that mean that if he wants to sign the LA, he will have to sign a 1 year deal or a 2 year deal with a player option for the 2nd year? I don't see that happening at all.

V1n5anity wrote:If Paul signs a contract, it will surely not be an extension. This means if he re-signs, it will be next summer. Won't that mean that if he wants to sign the LA, he will have to sign a 1 year deal or a 2 year deal with a player option for the 2nd year? I don't see that happening at all.

I can, but like I said only if it's with the Clippers. Why would he sign a huge contract and get stuck with another loser? He wanted out of New Orleans for that exact reason.

Chris Paul is probably saying, that damn elf, that should be me on that team.

The only way we're getting Cp3 next summer is if this team for whatever reason does not reach the finals this year and then we decide to dump Gasol for expirings/draft picks and use AMNESTY on Kobe. That's probably unlikely (even if we DO NOT reach the finals), but basically the short answer is, we're NOT getting Cp3 in a Lakers uniform next summer. 2 or 3 summers from now? Sure, maybe. That all depends on what kind of contract he signs with the Clippers or if he even stays with them (my bet is that he WILL stay though). But for now, I hate the guy and I hope the CLippers have a terrible season (Even though they're probably 3rd best in the west behind Lakers and Thunder, in my opinion).

FabFourLakers wrote:The only way we're getting Cp3 next summer is if this team for whatever reason does not reach the finals this year and then we decide to dump Gasol for expirings/draft picks and use AMNESTY on Kobe. That's probably unlikely (even if we DO NOT reach the finals), but basically the short answer is, we're NOT getting Cp3 in a Lakers uniform next summer. 2 or 3 summers from now? Sure, maybe. That all depends on what kind of contract he signs with the Clippers or if he even stays with them (my bet is that he WILL stay though). But for now, I hate the guy and I hope the CLippers have a terrible season (Even though they're probably 3rd best in the west behind Lakers and Thunder, in my opinion).

Who Needs CP3!? We Got Nash!! Chris Paul SHOULD FEAR The Lakers We'll Destroy the flippers this season!!!