One of the biggest free agents hitting the market this summer is Los Angeles Clippers star point guard Chris Paul, who will opt out of his player option to become an unrestricted free agent. Paul has already been linked to the San Antonio Spurs, who would give him a terrific shot at a title. If not the Spurs, many people expect him to re-sign with the Clippers. However, could there be other teams in play for Paul, perhaps the Miami Heat?
What it will take for Miami to get Chris Paul
The Heat have been connected to other top free agents for now, such as Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gay.
They could obviously bring in an All-Star caliber player, but would have to reconstruct considerably to bring in a superstar like Paul. First and foremost, to get attain Paul, the Heat would have to most certainly part ways with Goran Dragic.
They cannot have two start-worthy point guards on the team. Next, they would have to shed Chris Bosh’s contract now that he may be forced to retire due to blood clots. Lastly, they would also have to package Josh McRoberts’ contract in a trade.
Therefore, to acquire Paul, they would have to execute a sign-and-trade. Paul is obviously going to get a max deal, which would require the Heat to shed a lot of salary.
In a potential sign-and-trade, the Heat would have to give up Dragic, McRobets, and maybe a first-round pick to the Clippers for Paul.
That would be over $23 million in salary going to the Clippers, which would give Miami the flexibility to re-sign Dion Waiters and James Johnson. In addition, they may also be able to sign another above average free agent to completely bolster the roster, such as Danilo Gallinari, Rudy Gay, or Greg Monroe.
What would Chris Paul offer the Heat?
With a superstar like Paul, who can make players around him better, the Heat should instantly become a top-three team in the East. The Eastern Conference is inferior compared to the West, which would give Paul the chance to further advance in the playoffs.
Paul would immediately click with starting center Hassan Whiteside and would even make Whiteside a better player than he already is by setting him up for easy dunks and layups.
With his high I.Q. and knowledge, Paul would also make a major impact on the young players, like Justise Winslow, Tyler Johnson, and Josh Richardson, mentoring them every step of the way.
So there is a slight chance that the Heat could use this offseason to create an elite playoff team. They haven’t shown much interest in Paul just yet, but if Pat Riley is willing to trade Dragic to take a chance on an injury-prone superstar, the Heat could be in the Chris Paul summer sweepstakes.
