NBA Rumors: Chris Paul Trade To New York Knicks Won't Happen, Los Angeles Teams Eyeing Al Horford

The 2019 NBA draft isn’t here yet, but the wild offseason that everyone expected is already well underway. Each day seems to bring with it news that could have a significant effect on the league for the next few years.

On Tuesday, it was Chris Paul and Al Horford that made headlines. Yahoo Sports reported that the Houston Rockets’ guard demanded a trade because of a broken relationship with James Harden. Horford reportedly won’t pick up his player option with the Boston Celtics, and he’s expected to sign a long-term contract elsewhere.

Fewer than 24 hours later, we’ve got some updates regarding where both players might—or might not—end up this summer.

Paul’s future is a giant question mark. The Rockets have reportedly made him available, but it’s hard to come up with a team that will take on the three years and $124 million left on his contract.

It sounds like we can cross off the New York Knicks as a potential destination for Paul. League sources have told The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor that the Rockets explored trading Paul to the Knicks, but New York refused.

The Knicks conceivably make more sense than most as a trade partner for the Rockets because they have so much salary cap space, but New York is reportedly uninterested in absorbing Paul’s deal.

There’s been speculation that the Los Angeles Lakers could be one of the teams that might consider trading for Paul because of their cap space and LeBron James’ relationship with the veteran. L.A. seems like a long shot to have any negotiations with Houston as they look to use their cap space on a star free agent.

The Lakers will pursue the likes of Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker and Jimmy Butler, though they aren’t the frontrunners for any of those players. If those free agents all sign elsewhere, L.A. could use most of their cap space on Horford.

O’Connor reported Wednesday that the Lakers have interest in Horford, acknowledging the team will aim to sign bigger stars first. The Los Angeles Clippers are said to have the same level of interest in the former Celtics’ big man.

The Dallas Mavericks are considered to be the favorites to sign Horford, according to O’Connor. The New York Time’s Marc Stein has reported that the belief is Horford knows a team is willing to pay him at least $100 million over four years.