The New York Knicks have no interest in bringing in Chris Paul during his farewell season, per SNY’s Ian Begley.
Paul, who was sent home by the LA Clippers on Tuesday night, becomes trade-eligible on December 15.
“There’s a lot of speculation about Chris Paul and the Knicks. I’m told it’s highly unlikely at this point for that to come to fruition,” Begley reported on Wednesday.
“Knicks like their team, and that’s where it sits, he added.
Paul, who signed a one-year, $3.6M deal to join the Clippers last offseason, was previously linked with the Knicks, but chose to play his last year in Los Angeles.
Chris Paul to Knicks Buzz
Shortly after the Clippers sent Paul home, New York Post’s Stefan Bondy reported that New York had legitimate interest in the 12-time All-Star due to his close ties with Leon Rose, the president of basketball operations for the Knicks.
“With Chris Paul news, resurfacing what I reported that the Knicks had discussed possibility trading for the future Hall of Famer. Paul was repped for a long time by Leon Rose,” Bondy wrote on X.
Bondy reported last month that the Knicks considered a Chris Paul trade to fill the role of a backup PG, even before Landry Shamet went down with a shoulder injury.
Chris Paul Trade Likely
Per multiple insiders, Paul will likely suit up for another team before calling time on his career at the end of the 2025-26 season.
The Clippers have three options on how to proceed with Paul, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The Steve Ballmer-owned team can either 1) waive Paul’s $3.6M guaranteed deal and eat his salary, 2) trade him after he becomes trade-eligible on Dec. 15 or 3) agree to a contract buyout.
The optics of the Clippers sending Paul home in the middle of the night drew a lot of backlash. However, Lawrence Frank, the president of basketball operations, stood by his decision on Wednesday, explaining why the move was necessary.
“It was a really, really hard decision to make,” Frank said via The Athletic’s Law Murray. He added that the decision to part ways with Paul was due to fit issues and wasn’t about any one incident or one meeting. “But I think,” he said, “the right one for the team and organization.”
If Paul becomes a free agent, several title contenders will reportedly pursue him, especially the teams that need a quality backup point guard. Although Paul averaged only 14.3 minutes for the Clippers, he started all 82 games for the Spurs last season.
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