The larger reality, he said, is that Paul grasps how the new CBA will take away much of the power and my-way-or-the-highway thinking that NBA superstars have grown accustomed to wielding. “It’s harder and harder to trade these big salaries, and the teams that have the apron room to take these big deals are limited,” the executive said. “So Rich is thinking, and saying [to the league], ‘Before you use up your apron room to get Jimmy Butler, make room for De’Aaron.’” This executive pointed out, and several others later reinforced, that the landscape of the NBA has shifted so much that the old business-as-usual won’t be usual, or similar, anymore. And that many players, Fox notwithstanding, haven’t yet come to terms with the new reality. CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn pointed out last summer that this was coming. Paul appears well aware of what’s happening, and has savvily begun adjusting accordingly. But many players, and agents, are in for a rude awakening, sources say. -via CBSSports.com / January 31, 2025
De’Aaron Fox on reports he talked to Vivek Ranadive: That’s not true, I haven’t talked to him
