The NBA is truly a league of gossip, rumors, and speculation. No matter how hard players of fans try to downplay and dismiss certain talks, you can bet there will be people continuing to feed into the drama.
And while two basketball stars hanging out in Southern California during a random Sunday in the offseason isn’t usually cause for discussion, the basketball community has, predictably, used the situation to fuel the hype train.
Today, just days after Russell Westbrook’s trade to Los Angeles was announced, a photo of the newest Lakers point guard chilling with free-agent-to-be Chris Paul prompted a whole firestorm of whispers.
Chris Paul and new Laker Russell Westbrook spotted together in LA 👀
(via Reddit u/roll10deep) pic.twitter.com/TA1TGryShE
— ClutchPoints NBA (@ClutchPointsNBA) August 1, 2021
Considering Paul is friends with LeBron James (and, obviously, Westbrook), it’s not hard to imagine why the “PointGod” would love the idea of donning the Purple and Gold.
But after a wildly stunning season in Phoenix, where he led the Suns to his first-ever NBA Finals, reports have surfaced he’s all but a certainty to return to the team on a shiny, multi-year deal.
Not to mention that Paul’s $100+ million asking price is well above what the Lakers can afford to pay right now.
So, while it’s fun to speculate what might be going on behind the scenes, this is (probably) nothing more than two buddies enjoying their Saturday afternoon.
Ultimately, we’ll know where Chris Paul is headed in the next few days.
