During a recent recording of the Korner Booth podcast (episode 47), I claimed that “Pat Riley has lost it.” I said this while talking about the Jimmy Butler signing, and some people disagree with my assertion. After seeing their roster makeup, I have come around, Jimmy Butler might workout in Miami. However, Pat isn’t out of the woods yet. If he wants to prove me wrong, the Miami Heat cannot trade for Chris Paul.
Who Benefits from a Chris Paul Trade
Almost nobody benefits from Chris Paul being there. There are two players who might benefit: Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Having a point guard of Paul’s ability could help Butler’s scoring output. As I get into later, however, their personalities would clash too much for this to be a long term option. This leaves Bam, who would benefit greatly from having CP3 feeding him the rock. The pick-and-roll potential is scary. While only scoring 8.9 PPG last year, playing off of Paul would make this number skyrocket. Even with Bam’s sudden improvement, it does not mean he won’t improve with a different point guard. With the rest of the team in mind, however, Miami cannot trade for CP3.
Why Chris Paul is a Bad Fit
Chris Paul and Jimmy Butler is a bad idea. Both are “alpha dog” players, and would rather criticize others as opposed to being criticized themselves. Jimmy Butler’s issues in Minnesota are well known, but slightly less known are Chris Paul’s issues. Former teammate Ryan Hollins claimed Paul had some “growing up to do,” and Kendrick Perkins claimed Paul’s biggest issue was his ego. Do you see someone like that working well alongside Jimmy Butler? One alpha personality on a team can be a great thing: down one with the clock winding down, just put it in their hands. The issues start once there are multiple alphas in one locker room. As funny as it would be to see Jimmy Butler rip the ball away from Paul to take the game winning shot, that wouldn’t be good for team chemistry. Even if Jimmy Butler were somewhere else, the Miami Heat still cannot trade for Chris Paul.
Why Jimmy Butler is Not the Issue
Even if Jimmy Butler stayed in Philadelphia, Chris Paul is still a bad idea. Chris Paul is 34, and owed $38 million next season. After getting $41 million the following season, Paul has a player option for $44 million dollars. The age would not be a concern if Paul was as good as ever. However, this is not the case, as CP3 had his worst statistical season last year since leaving New Orleans. Given his diminishing returns and his bad contract, Chris Paul does not line up with the Heat’s timetable.
The Miami Heat’s Current Roster
The Miami Heat are a young team that will be a force in a few seasons. Trading for Paul, however, would throw a wrench in this. Justice Winslow ran the point last season, and did okay. He’s a solid defender, and scored 12.6 points with 4.3 assists per game last year. Chris Paul was better last year, but that should not change anything. Even with Paul, the Heat are a lower seed come playoff time. What having Chris Paul does for them is mortgage their future to win nothing now. If Paul ends up in South Beach, Winslow most likely will move to the three so he still develops. This causes two issues.
One issue with this is Winslow will still develop, but not as a point guard. This is bad for the Heat’s future, as Chris Paul could start over Winslow now, but who knows how quickly he will drop off. This will leave Miami without a point guard in the near future. The other issue is it causes a backup at the wings. Regardless of if Herro can compete to start the season or not, he still needs playing time. By running Winslow at point, this will allow Butler to move to the three, and thus give more time to Herro as the two guard.
If Miami wants to sell tickets now and don’t care about the next five years, bring in Chris Paul. If Pat Riley wants to win another ring in his lifetime, Miami cannot trade for Chris Paul.
