After making an extraordinary run to the NBA Finals before falling short, the Suns faced a long wait to get back to winning on the court. As it turns out the wait wasn't as long as we thought with Phoenix scoring one of their biggest yet on Monday.
Paul re-signed with the Phoenix Suns on a 4 year, $120 million dollar contract. All four years are not fully guaranteed likely meaning this is closer to a two or three year deal for the Suns.
Even with the news being expected, we shouldn't downplay the significance.
In the era of super teams, pay cuts and player empowerment, Chris Paul reached unrestricted free agency and chose to stay with the Suns. Chris Paul could've just had a one year fling with the organization and after waking up after the Finals and seeing Robert Sarver's organization, he could've headed for the hills (or ocean or Big Apple, in this case).
Instead, CP3 decided the Phoenix Suns were the best place to spend the rest of his career.
Sure, the Suns proximity to his family, their willingness to pay him nine figures potentially and his role as the NBAPA President helped influence the decision but it was not long ago where it would've require a hostage scene for an NBA superstar to sign on the Suns dotted line.
This isn't about Paul's performance at age 39 or 40. This is about continuing to fundamentally change the perception of the Suns franchise in the eyes of the NBA world.
The Suns aren't done. Moving on from Paul would've been like having your oldest kid babysit their siblings for the first time and then when they succeeded, inviting them to move out on their own. The Suns needed to and will take advantage of the Chris Paul HGTV-esque Franchise Makeover for at least the next two seasons.
By the time he's done, you'll hardly recognize the Suns and that's one of the biggest wins yet for the Suns.