Milwaukee Bucks Rumors: Chris Paul would “feel blessed” to be with Bucks
Per a report from the New York Post, future Hall of Fame guard Chris Paul is believed to feel blessed to potentially land with a contender like the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Milwaukee Bucks may not be reportedly pushing for a Chris Paul trade this offseason. However, that hasn’t stopped the links between the team and the future Hall of Famer.
After all, the threads between those two parties has been a major topic of discussion in the wake of the Bucks’ highly disappointing end to their 2019-20 season nearly a month ago.
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Now, per a report from Marc Berman of the New York Post, Paul is ultimately wanting to land with a contender such as the Bucks according to sources and one rival NBA executive amid all of the trade speculation surrounding the 35-year-old:
"“Some NBA sources believe Paul would feel blessed to be on a winning club such as the Bucks. But perhaps Paul, too, would desire to play in the world’s biggest media market and reunite with Leon Rose, his former agent.“He’s 35 — he wants to win,’’ one NBA executive said.”"
All of this comes after Paul recently made an appearance during Game 3 of this year’s NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat. Given all of the changes that have and will come with Paul’s current team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, Paul addressed sticking with the Thunder’s rebuild with the following quote that comes via ESPN’s Tim Bontemps:
"“I just love to hoop,” Paul said while watching as a virtual fan, talking to the broadcast team of Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. “[Former Thunder coach] Billy Donovan was amazing. My teammates have been amazing.“So, for me, you call it twilight years, I call it a blessing. Just being able to compete at a high level at 35 years old, [I’m going to] just keep rolling.”"
It goes without saying that Paul’s wishes to land with a contender are far from breaking news at this point. Through the aforementioned firing of Donovan, the Thunder have made it clear which direction they’re seemingly going over the next couple of years.
For a player that wants one final shot at glory, the Milwaukee Bucks viably offer Paul the best chance to win a title at this point in his NBA career.
But there are some major hurdles standing in the way of what Paul ultimately wants and aspires to achieve in what remains of his time in the NBA.
For one, the Bucks’ reported willingness to make a move for the 10-time All-Star isn’t all that high for a variety of reasons. The biggest is financially as building up a trade to simply acquire the $41.3 million he’s owed next season is quite the logistical challenge from a Bucks perspective.
Secondly, there is a reported reticence from a Milwaukee perspective to pair Paul with superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo due to their respective strong personalities.
There’s no question that personality conflicts have followed Paul over his 15-year NBA career. After all, it’s the very reason why he’s on the Thunder right now after being dealt away by the Houston Rockets back in July of 2019.
Given the uncertainty surrounding Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee, the Bucks don’t want to make any moves that rock the boat when it comes to leading Antetokounmpo down a road where he’s opting for a move elsewhere.
Having said all of that, the Bucks better be sure that whatever their plans are for this offseason as they explore ways to upgrade their roster after falling disastrously in the Eastern Conference Semifinals will result in said upgrades. What those plans look like, well, we’re far off from seeing those come to fruition. That is if they ultimately will.
Next. 3 goals for Donte DiVincenzo next season. dark
For now, the fit and the need between Paul and the Bucks will continue to be drawn and linked to across various reports. At this point, it would come as a great shock to see Paul in a Bucks uniform starting next season, but stranger things have happened.