{"id":1183704,"date":"2020-06-17T04:04:09","date_gmt":"2020-06-17T08:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1183704"},"modified":"2020-06-17T04:08:01","modified_gmt":"2020-06-17T08:08:01","slug":"35-year-old-chris-paul-is-the-second-highest-paid-player-in-the-nba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/35-year-old-chris-paul-is-the-second-highest-paid-player-in-the-nba\/","title":{"rendered":"35-Year-Old Chris Paul Is the Second-Highest Paid Player in the NBA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When his career ends, <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/chris-paul-was-almost-traded-to-the-warriors-for-steph-curry-and-klay-thompson\/\">Chris Paul<\/a> should be considered one of the top-10 point guards to ever play in the NBA. A <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/chris-paul\/\">standout sophomore<\/a> out of Wake Forest, Paul was great in New Orleans and helped create &#8220;Lob City&#8221; in LA during his time with the Clippers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the athlete enters the twilight of his career, one thing stands out: <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/nba-star-chris-paul-went-from-having-150-in-his-bank-account-to-becoming-a-millionaire\/\">Paul's current contract<\/a>. Let's review the deal and why it makes him the second-highest paid NBA player today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chris Paul signs the supermax deal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"CP3 shares positives and negatives of joining OKC Thunder | NBA Interview\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uh38kbu5-Co?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>RELATED: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/chris-paul-turned-his-bowling-hobby-into-a-smart-investment\/\"><strong>Chris Paul Turned His Bowling Hobby Into a Smart Investment<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotrac.com\/nba\/oklahoma-city-thunder\/chris-paul-2609\">Spotrac.com<\/a> details, Paul signed a four-year, $159 million contract with the Rockets before the 2017-18 season. This deal included a player option after the third season (2020-21), worth $44 million. <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/chris-pauls-grandfather-taught-him-countless-life-lessons\/\">Paul will turn 37<\/a> at the start of this deal. It looks like one of the rougher contracts to handle in the NBA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paul spoke to <a href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/2872402-chris-paul-no-chance-id-opt-out-of-442m-thunder-contract-to-help-a-trade\">Sports Illustrated<\/a> earlier this year and said there was no chance he would decline the option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Paul moves to Oklahoma City<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A report came out last summer regarding the tension between Paul and Rockets guard James Harden. The team knew they had to move one of the franchise's cornerstones. Houston <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/chris-paul-lays-out-when-he-wants-to-retire\/\">traded Paul<\/a> to the Oklahoma City Thunder along with four first-round picks for Russell Westbrook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The trade was smart for both teams. It made the Rockets younger at point guard; it also paired Harden with his best friend in the NBA in Westbrook. The Thunder also picked up multiple picks and a veteran for their young roster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Paul has a resurgent year with the Thunder<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Chris Paul BEST Thunder Highlights from 2019-20 NBA Season!\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Wny9zh7MGN0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>RELATED: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/chris-paul-once-purposely-tossed-an-airball-from-the-foul-line-and-walked-off-the-court\/\"><strong>Chris Paul Once Purposely Tossed an Airball From the Foul Line and Walked off the Court<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After posting pretty good numbers in the 2018-19 NBA season, many thought Paul <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/nba-star-chris-paul-takes-care-of-his-fellow-basketball-players\/\">would be a veteran piece<\/a> of the Thunder rebuild until a trade partner opened up. That hasn't been the case. After two unceremonious first-round exits, including Damian Lillard in 2019, no one expected OKC to be as good this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With two new powerhouses in LA, along with the Denver Nuggets, the Thunder are somehow sitting at No. 5 in the West with a 40-24 record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paul is averaging nearly 17 points and seven assists per game. Oklahoma City is a surprising 10th in defensive rating and points allowed per game without a lockdown defender on the perimeter with the skillset of Paul George. The Thunder could be a sneaky pick to make a deep playoff run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who makes more than Chris Paul?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Top 10 Paid NBA Players of 2020\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EjVhcqWYmsU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The only player making more than <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/how-a-plant-based-diet-changed-chris-pauls-nba-career\/\">Paul<\/a> is Golden State Warriors guard <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/chris-paul-finally-admits-steph-curry-dropped-him-with-the-famous-crossover-in-2015\/\">Steph Curry<\/a>. One half of the Splash Brothers and arguably the greatest shooter the game has ever seen, Curry is making $40 million this season. Although the Warriors face injuries and the departure of Kevin Durant, we think they could be dangerous next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Russell Westbrook is also in the conversation as he and Paul have the same salary this year. This makes the trade financially doable for both teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Chris Paul enters the twilight of his career, his current contract makes him the second-highest paid NBA player today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":1183715,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4831],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v22.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>35-Year-Old Chris Paul Is the Second-Highest Paid Player in the NBA - Sports7<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As Chris Paul enters the twilight of his career, his current contract makes him the second-highest paid NBA player today.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/35-year-old-chris-paul-is-the-second-highest-paid-player-in-the-nba\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"35-Year-Old Chris Paul Is the Second-Highest Paid Player in the NBA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As Chris Paul enters the twilight of his career, his current contract makes him the second-highest paid NBA player today.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/35-year-old-chris-paul-is-the-second-highest-paid-player-in-the-nba\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sports7\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-06-17T08:04:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-06-17T08:08:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Chris-Paul-Oklahoma-City-Thunder.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"690\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darrelle Thompson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darrelle Thompson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/35-year-old-chris-paul-is-the-second-highest-paid-player-in-the-nba\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/35-year-old-chris-paul-is-the-second-highest-paid-player-in-the-nba\/\",\"name\":\"35-Year-Old Chris Paul Is the Second-Highest Paid Player in the NBA - 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