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Bleacher Report took on the task of trying to figure out a way to create the next wave of superteams through trades.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Chris Paul got wrapped up in it.
B/R proposed the Thunder sending Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team trade also involving the Philadelphia 76ers.
In return for Paul, the Thunder would receive Los Angeles Lakers guards Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Sixers players Mike Scott, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Zhaire Smith, and the 2020 No. 21 pick from Philadelphia.
The Lakers would get Paul and a pair of Philly second-rounders.
The Sixers would receive Lakers players Kyle Kuzma, Avery Bradley, Talen Horton-Tucker.
Here is Bleacher Report’s rationale for the Thunder:
“This is all about dumping Paul’s exorbitant salary while still selling the transaction as a win. The Oklahoma City Thunder can move Danny Green and Caldwell-Pope at next year’s trade deadline for additional assets, and they get this year’s 21st pick while turning the keys over to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.”
The return for a declining Green and Caldwell-Pope, who has a player option for $8.5 million next season, would probably be rather low.
Oklahoma City could reasonably wait for a better offer.
Additionally, while the Lakers would get a star, they would decimate the depth and any chance at cap space over the next two seasons. They would have only seven players on their roster, and the three highest-paid — LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Paul — would put them right at $109 million, which is the 2019-20 salary cap, something that is expected to decrease next season.
So while this trade is a fun thought exercise, it isn’t a realistic option.