Chris Paul knew what he was doing. Let’s not forget, folks: Chris Paul always knows what he’s doing.
So when the recently traded future Hall of Famer went out of his way to pull the curtain back on the Phoenix Suns’ new operation Monday, highlighting Isiah Thomas’ (unofficial) role in the Bradley Beal trade during multiple interviews that were part of his book tour, You didn’t have to investigate the league to see what he might be trying to achieve. The 38-year-old has been as smart and calculating off the ground as he has been for decades now, and this was likely no different.
“(Suns owner) Mat (Ishbia) and Isiah, I think, just wanted to go in a different direction,” Paul, former president of the National Basketball Players Association, said. he told the New York Times During an interview he referenced Thomas’ influence on three separate occasions.
Paul has always been a smooth-talking political operator as he has been in the League, and this was certainly his way of letting the world know whose fingerprints were — and weren’t — all over the deal. Never mind that the Suns’ front office chief is President of Basketball Operations James Jones, who once served on the NBPA’s executive board with Paul and was largely responsible (along with Paul himself) for the trade that brought him to town from Oklahoma City in November. From 2020. According to Paul, they spoke the day before, and there was no mention of this trade anytime soon.
No, the move was all by Ishbilla, the 43-year-old entrepreneur who bought the team for $4 billion in February and has been on a sweet shopping spree ever since. And most importantly, as Paul made it clear, this was Thomas.
But Paul’s choice to reveal Thomas’ actual level of influence may make it difficult for the Suns to continue to avoid the uncomfortable questions that come with his involvement. To review Thomas, 17 years removed from the sordid Knicks scandal in which then-Knicks CEO Anusha Brown-Sanders was finally caught Settlement of $11.6 million from the Madison Square Garden company after Thomas, who presided over their front office, was accused of sexual harassment.
While his job as an on-air analyst for TNT and NBA TV means his profile within the league is very high these days, he hasn’t held a job within the NBA organization since leaving the Knicks in 2008. Given that the Suns are less than a year out of place, Epic Their toxic business, with former owner Robert Sarver being found by the league to be liable for sexual and racial misconduct en route to a one-year ban, $10 million fine and eventual sale of the team, the optics of this particular organization facilitating his return to the NBA. For the pros it couldn’t be much worse.
So, to recap: Suns got rid of an owner with a history of bad workplace culture and treatment of women. And replace him with an owner who seems to be empowering… Isiah Thomas? https://t.co/TdRMENRxFc
– Pablo Torre 🏴☠️ (PabloTorre) June 19, 2023
suns He denied a report that Thomas had joined their front office in early February, but it was no secret that the Hall of Famer turned broadcaster was a trusted advisor to Ishbilia. Anyone who saw Thomas sitting next to Ichpea during qualifying can tell a lot. In retrospect, it was apparent that the public denial of Thomas’ involvement was a ploy to get around all Unwelcome addresses which was sure to follow. For better or for worse, the time has long since come for Ishpia to acknowledge the role Thomas plays within his circle.
As for where Paul will go next, either via trade or if the Wizards decide to waive him, I’d be dumbfounded if it wasn’t for an L.A. team. Not only does there seem to be a lot of interest from the Clippers and Lakers (to varying degrees), but Paul’s attraction from playing in the same city as his family for the first time in five years is known to be key. factor too. There’s no bad story between the two options: Either Paul reunites with the Clippers franchise where he’s spent six seasons from his debut, or Paul finally joins the Lakers organization that turned down his trade in his favor by the late David Stern in 2011 (while playing alongside close friend LeBron). James for the first time too).
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The super team strategy is still alive
The Nuggets Championship marked the end of the super team era. It has never been so simple, as teams will always try a variety of ways to get to the top of the league mountain.
However, to see the Suns step past Beal less than a week after the mostly local Denver core lifted the trophy, it was necessary to remind you that the path of patience isn’t for everyone. And certainly not Ishpia, who now owes his newfound core in Bale, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Dendre Ayton a total of $719 million over their respective contracts (with massive luxury tax ramifications still to emerge when the new CBA takes effect).
For the purposes of the Nuggets, their combination of elite talent (Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray), depth, continuity, and the chemistry that comes with it should be a stark contrast to teams like the Suns that won’t have that kind of bonding. napkin. Any team can build this crucial element over time, but it’s always a missing component during the early stages of this kind of episode experience.
As Denver approached its first title in franchise history, it spoke of these two pole-opposing strategic approaches with someone whose view qualifies as it does: Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
“It’s nice to have one or two (star) players on the team,” said Caldwell-Pope, “but everyone else has to adapt to the players, and (to fit) the organization’s plan for the team.”
For anyone who’s forgotten, Caldwell Pope was a key member of the Lakers’ win-all team in 2020 (in his third season with the team) before being sent to Washington to play for Bell in the summer of 2021 as part of the Russell. Westbrook Deal. The Lakers’ impatient pursuit would cost them dearly in the end, and Caldwell Pope would go on to prove his worth again with the Nuggets after being sent to Denver with Ash Smith last summer in exchange for Monty Morris and Will Barton.
In the meantime, it was part of the Wizards’ plan to help provide Bell with the kind of player that might get them back in the playoff picture.
“When (the Lakers trade) happened, I was hurt a little bit, there’s no question about that,” said Caldwell-Pope. “But I had to move on. I thought I’d be there (with the Lakers) for a while, especially after the tournament. But it didn’t go that way. At the end of the day I felt like business is business.
“I got a call from my good friend Brad (Bill, the day before the trade went down), and he just asked me how I would feel about playing with him. I (knew him) since we were 15, and something we always talked about was playing with each other. Then the next morning, it happened.”
Fast forward 22 months, with the Wizards finishing 12th in the East in that 2021-22 campaign and 11th the previous season, and now Bale is the one on the go. After long waiting.
Go deeper
Inside the Nuggets Championship Roster and How They’re Designed to Win It All
Will Bill finally live his best basketball life?
By all accounts, Bill is about as good a guy as you’ll find in the league. I’ve never dealt with it on a consistent basis, but that’s the feedback from reporters, executives, coaches, fellow players, and the like. To see him get a real chance to compete at this point — just weeks away from his 30th birthday and 11 seasons away — seems like the kind of thing the basketball gods decided he deserved.
The incredible money these players earn is a huge part of their experience in the NBA, and Bill certainly has a lot of it. But competition and legacy are still very important. And while he’s been in the playoffs five times – losing in the first round twice and the second round three times – he’s never had an opportunity like this. The question now is what version of Beal will we see.
Although the health concerns of the past few seasons are justified, it didn’t take long for him to play in all 82 matches in back-to-back campaigns (2017-18 and 2018-19) on his way to his best-ever output. By averaging 30.5 points in 2019-20 (in 57 games during the shortened COVID campaign) and 31.3 points in 2020-21 (in 60 games), he scored two 20 seasons since 2009-10 have a player averaged 30 points. The list of others, on Stathead.com, is full of either greats or players looking to get to this state: Steve Curry, Kevin Durant, Westbrook, James Harden, Damian Lillard, LeBron, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Donjic, Jason Tatum and Shay Gilgos Alexander.
None of that will help the Suns figure out how to slow Jokić down, but they’re not alone on that front. Good luck to Ayton – if he’s still around – and everyone else they recruit to tackle this unenviable task. But these all-or-nothing Suns will be stronger than before offensively, and Bill was (another) gamble that Ishpia decided was worth the risk.
With help from Isiah, of course.
(Photo by Isiah Thomas and Suns Mat Ishbia owner: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)