2. Chris Paul has played his way to a new multi-year contract
I would have guaranteed before the season that Chris Paul would opt into his $44 million player option for the 2021-22 season. I would have been dead wrong. Even if he stays in Phoenix, it makes much more sense from a business perspective to opt-out of his contract.
Paul has a big impact on every single team he plays for and despite showing us time and time again, it is safe to say that most did not expect him to have this big of an impact on the Suns. Not only has he turned the culture of the team around, but he has been playing really good basketball and is going to get some MVP love because of it.
Don’t be surprised if Paul is in the top five of MVP voting. I would not even be shocked if he gets voted as a finalist, coming in third behind Nikola Jokic and Stephen Curry.
Even at his age, that kind of play warrants a new contract. Paul can opt-out and likely sign a three-year, $100-110 million contract. The counterpoint is him playing for one more year and then signing a three-year deal but that likely won’t be the case.
He will be one year older, and as we see every single year, anything can happen in the NBA. It makes more sense for Paul to strike while the iron is hot and turn that $44 million into $110 million. Sure, He would be taking a slight pay cut next season (AAV of $36.67 million) but he would be getting paid more in the long run.
He could just re-sign with Phoenix, but after the Los Angeles Lakers have their way with them, Paul will be re-evaluating other options.