The New York Knicks, led by former Chris Paul Leon Rose agent, are reportedly “preparing initial offers” to try and bring the future Hall-of-Fame point guard to New York.
Brandon “Scoop” Robinson reported that the Knicks have an offer online last week. Jonathan Macri of the Knicks Film School confirms Scoop’s report and adds that striker Julius Randle and 2018 lottery winner Kevin Knox are involved in internal discussions as potential players going the other way.
Paul will earn $ 41.4 million in 2020-21 with a player option of $ 44.2 million in 2021-22. The Knicks – who can create nearly $ 45 million cap this offseason depending on where the cap comes in – are one of the few teams in the league with enough room to absorb Paul’s salary this offseason. The fact that New York doesn’t need to pay back a lot of Oklahoma City’s salary to make a deal work could put them in the driver’s seat in negotiations.
While Randle will earn $ 18.9 million next season, his 2021-22 salary is only partially guaranteed for $ 4 million. Knox is entering the third year of his rookie scale contract which is expected to pay him just $ 4.6 million in 2020-21.
Oklahoma City surpassed expectations last season, mainly due to Paul’s leadership and performance. The Thunder have won 44 games and reached the Western Conference playoffs. However, with the pandemic impacting the league’s revenues and manager Billy Donovan splitting, it seems OKC is looking to lose their paycheck and focus on rebuilding through the younger pieces of their roster.