Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Chris Paul is among the greatest NBA players that hasn't won the NBA Championship, and time is ticking down for him to capture an elusive ring.
Paul is in his first season with the Thunder, and though they should get into the postseason, they simply aren't good enough to compete for a championship. The good news for OKC fans is that Paul doesn't seem to have any interest in leaving for the opportunity to ring chase.
The perennial All-Star carries a whopping $44.2 million option for the 2021-22 season. Certainly, Paul would have to waive it for the chance to get traded to a legitimate championship contender.
When asked by Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated if he would waive that giant payday, Paul quickly shut down that notion.
"No chance," Paul said. That’s not happening. Nope."
Paul is in the second of a four-year, $160 million maximum contract he signed with the Houston Rockets in 2018. Paul had led them to the best record in the 2017-18 regular season, and they fell just one game short of reaching the NBA Finals -- losing to the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.
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But following a disappointing 2018-19 season that saw Houston fall to Golden State in the second round, the front office decided to make some changes. Paul was sent to the Thunder in a blockbuster deal that brought 2017 MVP Russell Westbrook over to Houston.
This season, Paul carries a base salary of approx. $38.506 million, and it increases to $41.358 million for 2020-21. Paul will then have the choice to opt out of his contract for the 2021-22 season, but he's already vowed that it won't be happening.
It's hard to blame Paul for preferring to take all of that guaranteed money. It would be a special bonus if his Thunder found a way to quickly grow into a championship-caliber team, although that's unlikely to happen any time soon.
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