The Chris Paul sweepstakes have come to an end.
Last season, the Oklahoma City Thunder guard was heading into the NBA trade deadline unsure of his future with the Thunder. After becoming the Houston Rockets’ trade chip to land Russell Westbrook last offseason, it was assumed Paul didn’t have a long-term home in Oklahoma City.
Shockingly, Paul and the Thunder did a decent job in 2019-2020. Despite being a young and inexperienced team led by a 34-year-old point guard, the Thunder achieved a winning record of 44-28, notching the fifth seed in the Western Conference.
OKC didn’t go very far, which led to the first big move of the offseason — moving on from head coach Billy Donovan. The next expected move? Dealing Chris Paul in an attempt to get younger and better.
Although the Thunder didn’t move Paul first (Dennis Schroder did the honors), the Thunder didn’t wait very long to move the veteran. On Monday, following the opening of the NBA trade market, the Phoenix Suns and the Thunder have completed a deal sending Chris Paul to the Suns in exchange for Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque, Kelly Oubre, and “draft compensation” according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Suddenly, the up and coming Phoenix Suns look like they have a potential playoff roster on their hands. Last season, Phoenix missed the playoffs despite being the only team to go 8-0 down in the Orlando bubble during the seeding season.
This year, their chances of cracking the postseason tremendously increase as they add Chris Paul to play alongside Phoenix’s budding superstar, Devin Booker.
