Grading and examining every OKC Thunder player contract
By Aidan E
Chris Paul:
Three-years, $124 million dollars (Player option on the third year)
Chris Paul is one of the most polarizing players in the NBA. There are people who strongly dislike him (me) and then there are the die-hard Chris Paul fans who defend him over anything.
Chris Paul’s contract gives people the illusion that he is a bad player, and he’s not. Paul ranked 25th in Jacob Goldstein’s PIPM metric last season, (Player Impact Plus-Minus) ahead of players like Jimmy Butler, Kemba Walker, and Blake Griffin. In addition to that, he ranked 12th in ESPN’s RPM (Real Plus-Minus), 4th among point guards last season.
Paul’s contract increases by an average of three million dollars by the beginning of the following seasons, going from 38 million in ’19, 41 million in ’20, and 44 million in ’21. This isn’t ideal considering Paul’s base salary will be increasing while Paul will steadily decline to his age 36 seasons.
While it’s among one of the bottom ten contracts in the NBA, Paul shouldn’t be hit with a rapid decline like Russell Westbrook and John Wall might as his perimeter shooting and passing ability should age quite gracefully. If not traded, Paul should continue to be an impact stats darling in Oklahoma City and keep them afloat in the brutal Western Conference.