3. Isaiah Thomas, Iman Shumpert, and First-Round Pick for Chris Paul
Thomas was acquired in the Irving deal to take over the point guard slot, yet he’s in the same position as Paul: a free agent at the end of the season. There’s no guarantee that either will re-sign with his respective new team, so this deal would be an effort to entice James to stay by bringing one of his close friends.
Paul will turn 33 next May and is making $24.27 million this season, which means maneuvering within the salary cap to make this work would present a stiff challenge. In addition, how much longer he can play and whether he and James would look elsewhere regardless of this deal will also make the Cavs very cautious in this possible situation.
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