Chicago Bulls: Why did GarPax make a push for Chris Paul?
The Chicago Bulls were reportedly very close to acquiring guard Chris Paul from the Houston Rockets in a blockbuster trade. While the deal fell through, it’s no surprise that GarPax almost pulled the trigger.
The Chicago Bulls haven’t had much to celebrate this offseason after the NBA Draft Lottery didn’t work out in their favor. The team will pick seventh in the upcoming draft for the third straight year.
While it’s been a quiet offseason until now, there was a rumor flying around last week that the Bulls were close to trading for Houston Rockets star point guard Chris Paul.
It seems shocking as Paul is well into his career and may be declining, but anything is possible with this front office. What was even more shocking was the players the Bulls were reportedly giving up.
According to a site called OnSmash, the Bulls were “On the verge” of sending young forward Lauri Markkanen and guard Kris Dunn to Houston for Paul. This trade is laughably bad on its face and I have a considerable amount of doubt about the details.
OUR SOURCES: #ChrisPaul was on the verge of being traded to the Chicago #BullsNation in two weeks for #LauriMarkkanen & #KrisDunn but Bulls pulled out last second.
— OnSMASH (@OnSMASH) June 2, 2019
Rockets confirmed trade was dead last night and said CP3 would be returning back to Houston with James Harden. pic.twitter.com/JgIvc5x8eU
On the other hand, I wouldn’t put it past John Paxson and Gar Forman to make such a deal. I’ve written several articles ripping apart the front office duo known as GarPax. It’s clear where I stand on the pair.
This may venture into that territory, but I’m trying to put myself in their shoes to see why they’d considered such a lopsided trade.
I take this “Report” with a massive grain of salt, and it’s not fair to assume that GarPax were gung-ho about the deal and that it was about at the finish line. That being said, here are three theoretical reasons GarPax were interested in acquiring Paul.