One NBA writer believes LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers should trade for 12-time All-Star Chris Paul this summer. Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report is proposing that the Lakers trade D’Angelo Russell to the Phoenix Suns for Paul, who has a very close relationship with James.
Russell becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason, so it would have to be a sign-and-trade deal between the Lakers and Suns.
“L.A. doesn’t have a natural table-setter to complement James. Russell, Dennis Schröder and Austin Reaves can all initiate offense, but they’re better as scorers than passers. Paul, meanwhile, still ranks among the Association’s best decision-makers, having just averaged 8.9 assists per game against only 1.9 turnovers,” Buckley wrote. “He’d help the Lakers maximize each position, and he’d consistently put James and Davis in favorable scoring situations.
“Paul would even elevate the supporting cast by knowing where his teammates are most effective and learning how they like to be set up. He’d also be a defensive upgrade over Russell.”
Paul is 38 and coming off a career-low season in points per game (13.9). His durability continues to be an issue, as CP3 missed 23 games in the regular season and four games in the playoffs. The Suns, despite having superstars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, lost to Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals in six games.
Russell is really struggling for the Lakers in the conference finals versus the Nuggets. He’s averaging just 9.0 points through the first two games while shooting a putrid 12.5% from beyond the arc. If Los Angeles loses to Denver, the franchise could look to move on from Russell this summer and find someone else to run the show.
Paul, a future Hall of Famer, signed a four-year, $120 million contract with the Suns in August 2021. He has a partially guaranteed contract for next season. If the Lakers decide not to re-sign Russell and don’t go after James’ former teammate — Kyrie Irving — Paul could be an interesting option for the purple and gold.
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