The 28M that separated Chris Paul from the LA Lakers

The LA Lakers want to keep most of their roster as it is now, especially after making it into the past Western Conference Finals; they believe that running again with most of the same team to continue developing chemistry and culture could finally accomplish the ultimate goal of winning their 18th NBA championship title.

But after the news broke of Chris Paul possibly being available, LA immediately thought of him as their Plan A to build a stronger PG position alongside D'Angelo Russell and Dennis Schröder.

The problem is they wanted to pay CP3 only the vet minimum, and the Clippers also wanted to sign the PG star. Still, surprisingly neither of them got him, as ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski just announced the Warriors were making a trade with the Wizards for Paul.

CP3 could earn around 28 million instead of the 2.5 million the Lakers were willing to pay him. "The Washington Wizards have finalized a deal to send Chris Paul to the Golden State Warriors for a package that includes Jordan Poole and 2030 protected first-round and a 2027 second-rounder to the Wizards." Said, Wojnarowski.

The Lakers are focused on a deal of their own

It seems that Pelinka left Chris Paul to slip from the Lakers as they are focused on a deal for a couple of players that may not be big names but have starting quality talent for them to keep their depth, the current Pacers Buddy Hield & Myles Turner.