The San Antonio Spurs have been on of the top teams in the NBA for over a decade now but fell hard in the playoffs this season to the stacked Golden State Warriors. In an era where a team like the Warriors can stock up with all-stars and dominate the NBA, it is up to teams like the Spurs to match that star building power and this offseason, San Antonio might have that opportunity. NBA rumors indicate that the Spurs are going to make a run at Los Angeles Clippers free agent Chris Paul.
Chris Paul and the San Antonio Spurs
While the San Antonio Spurs have expressed interest in trying to make a run at Chris Paul as a free agent signee, there would need to be major overhauls if they even considered it.
The Spurs have very little in the way of salary cap space to sign someone like Chris Paul. San Antonio would have to give up a considerable amount of depth to make it happen and that could really hurt in case of injuries.
The Spurs saw what injuries could do to them this season. When Kawhi Leonard went down in the playoffs, they stood little chance of beating the Golden State Warriors. However, their depth was not enough to save their season. If they had a superstar like Chris Paul to add to the mix of Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge, they could have a three-man star front that could rival that of the Warriors.
The Clippers and Chris Paul
Most people see the Los Angeles Clippers as the most likely team to hold onto Chris Paul.
They can pay Paul more than any other team in the NBA thanks to the CBA. However, one just has to look at Kevin Durant leaving a playoff contender in the Oklahoma City Thunder to join an all-star team in Golden State to know that money isn't everything.
The Los Angeles Clippers have been a playoff contending team since Chris Paul joined them but they have never made it to the conference finals despite Paul and Blake Griffin playing at high levels.
The Thunder had made it to the NBA Finals and Durant still wanted an easier path to the NBA Finals in Golden State. Chris Paul could see the same thing with the San Antonio Spurs.
What about Blake Griffin?
If Chris Paul leaves the Los Angeles Clippers for the San Antonio Spurs, it would hurt them just as much as Kevin Durant hurt the Oklahoma City Thunder when he left.
However, the Thunder got lucky and Russell Westbrook remained loyal to his team and stayed, leading them to the playoffs. The only way this could happen for the Clippers is if Blake Griffin stays. At the moment, the Clippers are more likely to keep Paul than Griffin but if Paul leaves there is a good chance Griffin will follow.
