Adam joined up with Leyton Orient to play his first game for them at the weekend after giving some thought to a move across east London for a month and, with his contract up this summer, some observers assumed it was a case of putting him in the shop window.
But Paul says Adam is one of several players that he and Glenn Roeder will be keeping a close eye on in the final months of the season as the managerial duo think about who to retain next season.
"Adam has been working very hard in the reserves but it does get to the point where people are going to get an opportunity in first teams, and he wasn't going to get that with us, explains Paul.
"People were asking for him on loan earlier in the season but we thought no, but now we think it is a good time for him for a month and hopefully for the rest of the season.
"We will keep an eye on him and watch to see how he progresses; he has already had a chat with the manager and I don't think it is clear cut by any means that he is leaving - we are happy with Adam, he is a smashing lad, he is working hard, and he is improving.
"This gives him an opportunity to play first team football."
Izzie Iriekpen is also out of contract this summer, and, although he has not gone on loan, Paul is keeping a close eye on him, too.
"Another player on the comeback trail is Iriekpen and it is another bonus having him playing again.
"I watched him in the friendly reserve game in the week and he did very well. He has some smashing attributes and he is just pleased to be playing football."
If the Hammers can string a run of results together, Paul knows it will afford them the luxury of being able to try players out in the first team, and he adds: "A lot of players are out of contract and trying to prove what they are worth. It is an important part of the season and hopefully if we can get a few points on board we might be able to have a little bit of an experiment with things.
"It would give us an opportunity to look at certain people at different levels - everybody in life needs an opportunity at the right time.
"You never know when some people can grasp it with both hands, kick on, and become much better players.
"You are always looking and thinking 'what if this or that player got the opportunity?' but we are not in that position at the moment.
"We still have some work to do so we will think about it as and when we get to that position - but we want to get points on the board first."