The drama surrounding Chris Paul and the Houston Rockets continues to unfold.
It was reported Tuesday that Paul’s relationship with star guard James Harden was “unsalvageable” and that the point guard had requested a trade out of Houston. Paul later denied those reports.
Now The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor has reported that the Rockets offered Paul to the New York Knicks in a trade offer, which the Knicks rebuffed.
“The Rockets recently explored trading Chris Paul into New York’s cap space, but the Knicks refused, according to league sources,” O’Connor wrote. “Trading Paul would have positioned the Rockets to be a Clint Capela or Eric Gordon trade away from freeing up the cap space to sign Jimmy Butler, who league sources say they plan to pursue.”
The Rockets figure to be one of the more aggressive pursuers of Jimmy Butler, and moving Paul seems to be a necessary step in opening up cap space to land the free agent. The Knicks, meanwhile have been involved in rumors surrounding Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker. They also hold the No. 3 pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft.
