With footage of Chris Paul seen working out with his newest teammate, Devin Booker, it seems CP3 has already embraced his new reality. Despite the rumors of him going to LA, Milwaukee, or even New York City, it looks like Paul will be spending out his twilight days in Phoenix, helping them return to relevance in an unforgiving Western Conference.
Still, there are many questions regarding the star point guard and how the Suns, of all teams, were able to pull off a deal while others, who are seemingly more desperate, lost out.
Well, on the Knicks in particular, one source revealed the reason why Paul was turned off by the idea — and COVID-19 is ultimately to blame.
“We were discussing like, ‘Hey, where are you going to go?’” Matt Barnes told Sirius XM NBA radio, via the New York Daily News. “And he was saying the Knicks were an option but, you know, if he was going to New York he wanted the full Knick experience, meaning he wanted the fans, he wanted the essence, he wanted the ambiance of that Madison Square Garden crowd. And going there now, you know, we don’t know if that crowd will ever be back.”
With the pandemic still raging across the country, stadiums are still mostly closed to the public, drastically altering the experience of home games.
This is especially unfortunate for the Knickerbockers considering Madison Square Garden is widely recognized as the most famous in all of sports.
The Knicks are in no position to compete for titles, meaning the main draw of going there (aside from living in New York) is experiencing the energy of the crowd and the atmosphere of the arena.
Clearly, Paul wasn’t about going there if it meant he couldn’t enjoy those luxuries, and I can’t say I blame him. At least with the Suns, he’ll have hot weather, west-coast vibes, and a chance at success in the postseason.
