The Los Angeles Clippers reportedly are nervous about losing their star point guard to a Western Conference rival this summer.
According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Clippers are wary about Chris Paul possibly joining the San Antonio Spurs in free agency.
The Clippers, I'm told, take the threat of a Spurs free-agent pursuit of Chris Paul very seriously despite SA's current lack of cap space.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 26, 2017
Los Angeles will have quite a few decisions to make this offseason. Both Paul and Blake Griffin are expected to opt out of their current contracts, while J.J. Redick will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Paul joining the Spurs makes sense in theory. The 32-year-old probably will want to join a team with legitimate postseason aspirations, and Tony Parker’s age and recent injury history surely will prompt San Antonio to bolster the point guard position.
But as Stein mentions, the Spurs’ cap situation isn’t a friendly one. San Antonio will have just over $5 million in cap space, according to Spotrac, which of course won’t tailor to Paul’s demands. The nine-time NBA All-Star, of course, will be looking for a max contract, especially considering this might be the last opportunity in his career to really cash in.
It’s expected that Los Angeles will go all out to retain Paul’s services, but you can never count out Gregg Popovich and Co. when it comes to bringing in veteran players.
Thumbnail photo via Kelvin Kuo/USA TODAY Sports Images
