New York Knicks: Debating the offseason point guard landscape

Chris Paul

Quite possibly the largest name tied to the Knicks ahead of the offseason is Chris Paul.

The 10-time All-Star could be on the move this summer after a renaissance season with the Oklahoma City Thunder. After being considered a salary dump last summer when traded away from the Houston Rockets, there may now be value in trading away the 34-year old veteran.

Ahead of the hiatus forced by the COVID-19 outbreak, Paul was on his way to another Western Conference playoff appearance leading a surprising and ragtag group out of OKC. He averaged 17.7 points, 6.8 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals in all 63 games this year.

Paul reaffirmed his stature as one of the greatest point guards of all time this season.

Who better to usher in the next era of Knicks basketball? He’s proven his command of an offense surmounts the level of talent on the roster he plays with, which should be the only argument Thunder general manager Sam Presti should have to make to get New York to buy in.

And acquiring Paul from Oklahoma City shouldn’t cost the Knicks a great deal. Ian Begley of SNY’s latest reporting says the Thunder would be interested in a package around Frank Ntilikina and veteran shooter Reggie Bullock. That would be a win in every sense of the word for New York.

And there is Paul’s perennial “star value.” As a big name of the NBA’s last decade, he’s always going to prove a great selling piece to other top-level free agents; provided he can keep up this level of play, New York would immediately be upgraded as a free agency destination.