The offseason trade which saw Houston Rockets send Chris Paul to Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Russell Westbrook surprised many people, but apparently, Paul himself was the one who at least expected it. In a recent interview with The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears, Paul admitted that he “was shocked” when he learned he was swapping Houston for OKC.

According to Paul, the biggest reason for the surprise was that he talked with Rockets’ general manager Daryl Morey before the trade, and was told he wasn’t going to Oklahoma.

“I was shocked.” – said Paul. “Truth be told, I just talked to Daryl [Morey] a couple days before the trade and he said he wasn’t going to trade me [to Oklahoma City]. That’s funny because that is going to be the alert that pops up on everybody’s phone because nobody knows that. But what the hell, I just said it.”

Still, despite being caught off guard and send to a non-contender, Chris Paul doesn’t hold grudges towards Houston. He is just happy to play basketball.

“The way my mind is, as long as we’re on the court we have a chance to win. That’s the way I’ve always been. That’s the way I always will be. I’m just grateful to be hooping. … It could be a lot worse.” – he added.

According to the sources around the league, Morey was hoping a third team will join in Rockets and Thunder in a trade, which would help Paul land on a team of his preference. This, however, didn’t materialize and the 34-year-old guard ended up starting the season in OKC’s jersey.

Paul has played 20 games with Thunder this season and is currently averaging 15.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.6 steals.

The post Chris Paul Says He “Was Shocked” After Learning About OKC Trade appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Although it seems that a breakup between Chris Paul and Houston Rockets is imminent, the two sides might end up patching things up. Paul recently spoke with the media and said that he will stay in Houston for the next season and is “very happy” about it.

Several media reported last week that the relationship between Paul and the rest of the Rockets has been troubling and that the 34-year-old point guard asked for a trade. He, however, denies making such a request.

“I never asked for a trade,” – said Paul said. “I never demanded a trade.”

“I’ll be in Houston,” – he added. “I’m happy about that. I’m very happy about that. I’m good.”

According to sources close to the situation, Chris Paul has been discontent with the way his co-star James Harden has been playing. While Paul was pushing for more designed plays and sets in the postseason, Harden relied on iso-basketball. Rockets elimination in the Western Conference semi-finals ended up making an already tense relationship even tenser.

The issue for the Rockets is that they would face tons of difficulties even if they wanted to trade Paul. He still has $124 million over three years left on his contract, which combined with his advanced age and declining play makes him a tough asset to move on.

Paul finished the regular season with a career-low 15.6 points per game, while also adding 4.6 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 2.0 steals per game.

The post Chris Paul Denies Making a Trade Request: “I’ll Be in Houston” appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Although no one is currently safe on the Houston Rockets’ roster, it looks like the team’s general manager, Daryl Morey, is set on moving Chris Paul.

While this might be easier said than done, considering his team-unfriendly three years, $124 million contract, Paul reportedly still has some suitors around the league.

According to Sporting News’ Sean Deveney, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks might get involved in talks with the Rockets about Paul in case that they strike out in a free agency. Lakers and the Knicks are banking that they will attract at least one superstar free agent this summer, but they could easily end with none.

Both franchises could also get into a bidding war with Boston Celtics for New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis, which also might not turn out the way they would wish.

Deveney reports that by targeting Chris Paul, who is considered first-ballot Hall of Famer, both teams would aim towards “face-saving trade” that could rescue their summer and get them back to relevancy.

Besides Lakers and the Knicks, there are several other teams that could get involved into trade talks with Rockets over Paul including Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, and Phoenix Suns. The Suns are reportedly a “wild-card” as they are still weighing in whether the 34-year-old veteran would fit with their young core.

Paul played 58 regular season games with Houston this season, averaging  15.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game.

The post Lakers and Knicks Reportedly Interested in Chris Paul appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It looks like Houston Rockets’ point guard Chris Paul will not settle for anything less than a max contract when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer. Although there have been reports that the 33-year-old could offer the Rockets a discount in order to help them create a more competitive team, that won’t be the case according to ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Speaking on his The Woj Pod podcast, Wojnarowski said that there are no indications that Paul will settle for anything less than a max deal.

“When the Rockets made that deal for Chris Paul, knowing they would re-sign him [once he hit free agency], they made a conscious decision that they were gonna have to live with [paying him] $46, $47 million-a-year salary when he’s not nearly the player anymore in his late 30s, but, ‘We’re gonna make a run at it now; we wanna win a championship now. We’ll deal with it [Paul’s contract] later.’” – said Wojnarowski. “We’ll see how that plays out in their contract talks [with Paul] here in free agency. Chris Paul didn’t turn down $200 million from the Clippers because he thought that somehow the Rockets were gonna talk him into saving them luxury-tax money. I don’t imagine it playing out that way.“

After spending more than six years with the Los Angeles Clippers, Chris Paul decided to team up with James Harden and join the Houston Rockets in June 2017. It turned out to be the right move, since the Rockets finished the season as the top seed in the Western Conference, with Paul averaging 18.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 7.9 assists, and 1.7 steals during the regular season.

Chris Paul also put on some great performances during the playoffs but suffered an injury in the Western Conference Finals which saw him missing the two final games of the series against the Golden State Warriors. Paul’s value to the team was evident in these two games since the Rockets didn’t manage to get the win and ended up missing out on NBA Finals appearance.

The post Chris Paul Wants a Max Contract from the Houston Rockets appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The offseason trade which saw Houston Rockets send Chris Paul to Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Russell Westbrook surprised many people, but apparently, Paul himself was the one who at least expected it. In a recent interview with The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears, Paul admitted that he “was shocked” when he learned he was swapping Houston for OKC.

According to Paul, the biggest reason for the surprise was that he talked with Rockets’ general manager Daryl Morey before the trade, and was told he wasn’t going to Oklahoma.

“I was shocked.” – said Paul. “Truth be told, I just talked to Daryl [Morey] a couple days before the trade and he said he wasn’t going to trade me [to Oklahoma City]. That’s funny because that is going to be the alert that pops up on everybody’s phone because nobody knows that. But what the hell, I just said it.”

Still, despite being caught off guard and send to a non-contender, Chris Paul doesn’t hold grudges towards Houston. He is just happy to play basketball.

“The way my mind is, as long as we’re on the court we have a chance to win. That’s the way I’ve always been. That’s the way I always will be. I’m just grateful to be hooping. … It could be a lot worse.” – he added.

According to the sources around the league, Morey was hoping a third team will join in Rockets and Thunder in a trade, which would help Paul land on a team of his preference. This, however, didn’t materialize and the 34-year-old guard ended up starting the season in OKC’s jersey.

Paul has played 20 games with Thunder this season and is currently averaging 15.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.6 steals.

The post Chris Paul Says He “Was Shocked” After Learning About OKC Trade appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Although it seems that a breakup between Chris Paul and Houston Rockets is imminent, the two sides might end up patching things up. Paul recently spoke with the media and said that he will stay in Houston for the next season and is “very happy” about it.

Several media reported last week that the relationship between Paul and the rest of the Rockets has been troubling and that the 34-year-old point guard asked for a trade. He, however, denies making such a request.

“I never asked for a trade,” – said Paul said. “I never demanded a trade.”

“I’ll be in Houston,” – he added. “I’m happy about that. I’m very happy about that. I’m good.”

According to sources close to the situation, Chris Paul has been discontent with the way his co-star James Harden has been playing. While Paul was pushing for more designed plays and sets in the postseason, Harden relied on iso-basketball. Rockets elimination in the Western Conference semi-finals ended up making an already tense relationship even tenser.

The issue for the Rockets is that they would face tons of difficulties even if they wanted to trade Paul. He still has $124 million over three years left on his contract, which combined with his advanced age and declining play makes him a tough asset to move on.

Paul finished the regular season with a career-low 15.6 points per game, while also adding 4.6 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 2.0 steals per game.

The post Chris Paul Denies Making a Trade Request: “I’ll Be in Houston” appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Although no one is currently safe on the Houston Rockets’ roster, it looks like the team’s general manager, Daryl Morey, is set on moving Chris Paul.

While this might be easier said than done, considering his team-unfriendly three years, $124 million contract, Paul reportedly still has some suitors around the league.

According to Sporting News’ Sean Deveney, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks might get involved in talks with the Rockets about Paul in case that they strike out in a free agency. Lakers and the Knicks are banking that they will attract at least one superstar free agent this summer, but they could easily end with none.

Both franchises could also get into a bidding war with Boston Celtics for New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis, which also might not turn out the way they would wish.

Deveney reports that by targeting Chris Paul, who is considered first-ballot Hall of Famer, both teams would aim towards “face-saving trade” that could rescue their summer and get them back to relevancy.

Besides Lakers and the Knicks, there are several other teams that could get involved into trade talks with Rockets over Paul including Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, and Phoenix Suns. The Suns are reportedly a “wild-card” as they are still weighing in whether the 34-year-old veteran would fit with their young core.

Paul played 58 regular season games with Houston this season, averaging  15.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game.

The post Lakers and Knicks Reportedly Interested in Chris Paul appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It looks like Houston Rockets’ point guard Chris Paul will not settle for anything less than a max contract when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer. Although there have been reports that the 33-year-old could offer the Rockets a discount in order to help them create a more competitive team, that won’t be the case according to ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Speaking on his The Woj Pod podcast, Wojnarowski said that there are no indications that Paul will settle for anything less than a max deal.

“When the Rockets made that deal for Chris Paul, knowing they would re-sign him [once he hit free agency], they made a conscious decision that they were gonna have to live with [paying him] $46, $47 million-a-year salary when he’s not nearly the player anymore in his late 30s, but, ‘We’re gonna make a run at it now; we wanna win a championship now. We’ll deal with it [Paul’s contract] later.’” – said Wojnarowski. “We’ll see how that plays out in their contract talks [with Paul] here in free agency. Chris Paul didn’t turn down $200 million from the Clippers because he thought that somehow the Rockets were gonna talk him into saving them luxury-tax money. I don’t imagine it playing out that way.“

After spending more than six years with the Los Angeles Clippers, Chris Paul decided to team up with James Harden and join the Houston Rockets in June 2017. It turned out to be the right move, since the Rockets finished the season as the top seed in the Western Conference, with Paul averaging 18.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 7.9 assists, and 1.7 steals during the regular season.

Chris Paul also put on some great performances during the playoffs but suffered an injury in the Western Conference Finals which saw him missing the two final games of the series against the Golden State Warriors. Paul’s value to the team was evident in these two games since the Rockets didn’t manage to get the win and ended up missing out on NBA Finals appearance.

The post Chris Paul Wants a Max Contract from the Houston Rockets appeared first on SportzBonanza.