At the age of 40, in his 21st season of his career, he tried to replace Harden but was rejected! Paul is at the age of retirement

NBA free market has been opened for three days and has basically entered the fishtail stage of trading. High-quality stars and players locked in their next home early, and many locked in their next home before the free market opened. For example, Durant joined the Rockets, and the Rockets also renewed Jabbarri Smith for 5 years and 122 million yuan; Reed of the Timberwolves was pursued by many teams, and finally renewed the contract for 125 million yuan in five years and 125 million yuan. Including Alexander receiving a super maximum salary of 285 million in four years, Turner switching to the Bucks for 107 million in four years, simply put, a good player will not delay until three or four days before deciding on his own ownership. The remaining free agent market is bleak. The only two most famous Hall of Fame players are Paul and Westbrook. In addition, Kumingga has dragged the Warriors into a desperate situation.

First of all, Westbrook is here, it is difficult for him to return to the Nuggets. After the Nuggets opened the free market, they won Cameron Johnson + Hardaway Jr. + Bruce Brown + Valanciunas in succession. The lineup depth was upgraded, which was enough to challenge the Thunder. The team no longer had Westbrook's position. However, Westbrook is not short of a next home, and the king has been trying hard to pursue him. However, when Paul comes to his place, the situation becomes very embarrassing. First of all, Paul officially turned 40 in May this year, and next season is his 21st season in his career. Last season, Paul played 82 games, averaging 8.8 points and 7.4 assists per game. Data shows that Paul scored more efficiently than 82% of the league's players who received at least 1,000 ball covers last season.

However, since the Spurs selected Harper as the second pick, Castle is also growing rapidly, and the team is not short of ball holders, and the Spurs have no intention of continuing to cooperate with Paul. Before the trading market opened, Paul made clear his next home option: he hoped to be closer to home (his family has been in Los Angeles), and naturally, the Clippers and the Suns became Paul's only two choices. Some fans must be curious about why there is no Lakers. The reason is very simple. The Lakers are in a mess, so there is no need for Paul to step on this puddle. Judging from the attitude of the potential next home, the Sun did not regard Paul as the primary goal. After all, the process was not very pleasant when he was sent away by the Sun. Moreover, the original trading partner Bill was still in the team, and Booker was more or less unhappy with Paul.

The Clippers have a clear attitude and hope that Paul will lead the substitute. The Clippers have cut off Eubanks and are expected to free up nearly 10 million in salary space, strengthening two goals: substitute point guard and substitute forward. I thought things would come naturally, but according to column reporter Renard, Paul hopes to continue to be the team's starting lineup next season, which is why he has not made any absolute decisions so far! According to the analysis of salary expert Kate Smith, it is very easy for Paul to play as a starting player. The only one who has a starting vacant position in the league and has certain competitiveness is the Bucks. If Paul can accept the role of a substitute, then the Kings and the Clippers are both good next options, and they are not far from Los Angeles; or consider going to join Jokic. After Paul expressed his attitude, the Clippers' attitude became clearer. Reporter Garza revealed that the Clippers do want to get Paul, but they never had the idea of ​​removing Harden from the starting lineup in order to introduce Paul, which is outrageous. Harden is 35 years old during the offseason and is indeed not young anymore. He just signed a two-year contract with the Clippers for $81.5 million. Harden averaged 22.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game last season. He is fifth in the league in playing time. He is the highest in the team in scoring and assists. He is selected as the All-Stars + Best Team Three Teams. Harden can ensure the lower limit of the Clippers, with a winning rate of at least 60%. Few of the league can do this. Under Harden, Powell played his best season in his career and Zubac also grew into the league's top center.

Why did Paul think he could replace Harden? Of course, Paul's first 20 seasons of his career were in the Warriors. He was willing to take the initiative to be a substitute in order to improve the team's record. The effect was indeed good, but the Warriors' entire lineup had obvious shortcomings. The passing and cutting system + lack of high center cover made Paul feel uncomfortable and was a failed journey. But Paul will also be 41 years old next season. Maybe he doesn't have absolute data support and continues to ask for maximum salary like James, but the starting position he hopes is definitely impossible. In addition, there is another important point. No matter which team Paul goes to, he will "take the initiative" to assume the role of the team's locker room leader. This is a hidden danger of breaking the original internal balance for any strong team.

In the Rockets' period, he and Harden broke up because of this incident. Now that Harden and Leonard have formed a balance in leading the team, Paul may be suitable for a substitute control, but is it suitable for this Clippers? The team far away from home doesn't want to go, and they can't play as the starting lineup, and they don't want to go. Although Paul, 40, has a very brilliant career and is completely perfect after only one championship, there are only two ways before him: accept the substitute role, put away his kingly attitude, and be a supporting role with peace of mind. Then, if Paul cannot change himself, the final outcome is that he cannot find his next home, and he may have to retire.