Perhaps. He also wanted the money. Felt that he deserved the money because he is an amazing player that does probably everything possible to win. And does not want to accept that he would soon not be worth that contract and hamper a contending team.
The flipside of it is that Rockets did ask him to take less that first year by choosing to opt-in and force a trade. CP3 could have rightfully opted-out and gotten a max deal somewhere else at that point. If the Rockets ever want players to trust them in the future, they can't screw him over and not give him the contract they promised. Besides which, at the time he did sign the deal, he was considered the key reason we made the leap from 2017 to 2018, so he had also earned what they had promised him. The mistake, if there was one, was asking him to take a paycut in year 1 in exchange for a future deal. That's where the Rockets took a huge risk. After that, it was out of their hands.
Hindsight is 20/20 for a reason, I guess. Looks to me, he probably wishes now that he just made a 3-year deal. If he doesn't regret it and likes the contract he has right now, then he's been just lying through his teeth about winning.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27210295/thunder-attempts-move-paul-stall Oklahoma City's discussions to move nine-time All-Star guard Chris Paul to a new destination are parked and an increasing expectation exists that he will start the season with the Thunder, league sources tell ESPN. Oklahoma City has been working with Paul and his representatives on finding a trade, but nothing is materializing so deep into summer free agency, sources said. Both sides believe there are benefits to Paul, 34, playing out the year with the Thunder. For now, there's a belief that there could be more success exploring trade scenarios again after Dec. 15 -- or even the completion of the 2019-20 season, league sources said. The market expands on Dec. 15, when players who signed offseason free agent deals can become eligible to be included in trade packages. Because of the Houston-Oklahoma City trade coming so late in free agency -- coupled with three years, $124 million left on Paul's contract -- there are no contenders that have the cap space or roster structure to incorporate parameters of a deal for Paul. The Thunder made the trade with Houston to accommodate Russell Westbrook's wishes, but ensuing talks with Paul and his representatives found two sides sharing a belief that a season together could be beneficial to both, sources said. Thunder general manager Sam Presti welcomes the idea of Paul playing for his franchise this season, and Paul has warmed to the idea of the Thunder as a landing spot for the year based on the organization and a competitive talent-level. The Thunder don't have a Western Conference championship contender, but they do have a core with Paul, Danilo Gallinari, Steven Adams, Dennis Schroder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander that will not be participating in the NBA's annual race to the bottom. It promises to be a competitive environment for Paul to play the season. For now, Oklahoma City doesn't feel a need to surrender draft compensation to unload Paul's contract, sources said. They want to be competitive and believe that Paul can serve as a mentor to Gilgeous-Alexander, a second-year guard who's considered the franchise's future playmaker.
If CP3 and Gallo can be healthy OKC has a shot at the playoffs. Not a lock by any stretch and not a contender, but they can compete.
This is the right approach by Presti, they have no reason to make this happen now, they can wait, maybe Chris will be fine by a physical standpoint, and without James next to him it's very possible he'll boost his numbers a bit. There's always a chance a team gets desperate during the season, some teams lack a good point guard, i'm thinking about Miami but also Orlando, Detroit, Dallas, Lakers...and i wouldn't be shocked if other teams like Spurs and Bucks might show some interest depending on how things (Murray's development/Brogdon absence) will turn out.
Which of those teams you listed could trade multiple players that add up to $40m? That would mean trading away 4-5+ guys. I don't know of any team that could do potentially trade up to $40m that besides Miami (with Dragic as the center piece).
Chris is making 38M this season so, now i don't know the exact amount a team need to send out to be able to take him back, but around 30/32M should be enough or super close so: - Orlando could trade Fournier, Augustine and Isaac, that's already 30M, if necessary they could add one or two minimum salaries - Detroit with Jackson, Snell and Galloway are at 35M - Dallas could trade Lee and Hardaway (33M) - Lakers would be forced to move more guys, and especially to put Green in the deal. A package of Green, Pope, Caruso, Rondo and Cook would get it done since it's basically 32M So yeah, i don't think salary matching will be necessarily a big problem.
I still hate the fact that Chris made the Rockets trade for him and his bird rights. Instead of just signing a deal with us that summer. We gutted our team for him and he refused to give us a discount on his max deal. He could've at least taken 5 million less per year to help us retain some of our players, We lost bev, lou, and Harrell for nothing! Good riddance! selfish POS
I distinctly recall that it would've actually cost the Rockets a ton more had they gone that route. Just clearing enough cap space to sign him would've cost not only multiple draft picks to trade Anderson's contract but would've also involve letting go of a Lou, Bev and more. The Rockets were nearly 15 million over the cap in 16-17.