League sources around the NBA have told ESPN that the San Antonio Spurs have been exploring the possibility of making a run at perennial All-Star point guard Chris Paul this offseason. These same sources are also saying that the Los Angeles Clippers view the threat of the Spurs swiping away their best player very seriously, despite the Spurs cap situation.
Why get Chris Paul?
The biggest reason behind the San Antonio Spurs wanting to get Chris Paul is that it would give them a big three of Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Paul. It is possible that this trio of All-Star players could help them close the gap on the dominant Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference.
The Spurs were a 61-win team last season and seem to have the best chance to challenge the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA if they could get another star player.
The Clippers are still seen by many as the strong favorites to keep Paul and fellow All-Star Blake Griffin once they hit free agency. This is due to the financial advantages that the league has set up for teams to keep their star players, as the Clippers can offer Paul a five-year, $205 million contract. The best the Spurs could give him is a four-year, $152 million one. However, the Spurs and other teams are hoping that the lack of playoff success with the Clippers will get Paul to look at signing elsewhere at this stage of his career.
Chris Paul would not be worth it for the Spurs
The biggest obstacle in the way of the San Antonio Spurs signing Chris Paul is that they basically have no salary-cap flexibility. At this point Chris Paul is 32 years old and while he is still a great player, it is a risk for the Spurs to put so much money into a player his age.
This becomes more accurate when you consider the money they already have in LaMarcus Aldridge, who will soon be 32.
Even if the Spurs renounced their rights to Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills, Jonathon Simmons, Dewayne Dedmon and David Lee it would still not be enough. They would also face difficult decisions on what to do with Tony Parker and maybe have to trade Pau Gasol and/or Danny Green.
Another option would be to try to trade Aldridge, but even then the Spurs would still lose some of their depth. As great as Chris Paul is, would he put the Spurs over the top if they had to get rid of two or three starters and most of their depth coming off of the bench? These are the scenarios that Spurs management will have to ponder in the next month.
