When Chris Paul was traded to Oklahoma City, the assumption was that, at 34-years-old, the veteran guard would eventually want to move on to contender, not tied to a rebuilding project when his window to win an NBA Championship was slowly, but surely closing.
At 8-11 coming into Wednesday night’s game against the Pacers, the Thunder are next to last in the Northwest Division and 10th in Western Conference standings.
There are no title expectations for Oklahoma City this year.
And as it turns out, Paul is fine with that. He’s OK being in OKC.
After Oklahoma City’s 107-104 win over the Pelicans on Sunday, Paul told The Undefeated that it’s his love for the game that’s giving him perspective at this point in his career.
“I love to hoop too much,” Paul said. “The way my mind is, as long as we’re on the court we have a chance to win. That’s the way I’ve always been. That’s the way I always will be. I’m just grateful to be hooping. … It could be a lot worse.”
With December 15, the date that when players that signed contracts in the offseason can be traded, looming Paul knows another deal could be in the works. But this Paul will be prepared. A far cry from what he told Marc J. Spears was the situation when he left Houston.
“My initial reaction?” Paul said with a laugh. “I was shocked. Truth be told, I just talked to Daryl a couple days before the trade and he said he wasn’t going to trade me [to Oklahoma City]. That’s funny because that is going to be the alert that pops up on everybody’s phone because nobody knows that. But what the hell, I just said it.”
No one knows how long Paul’s tenure in Oklahoma City will last. But he’s been invested since the day he got there. Something his current coach appreciates.
“The thing I admire about his professionalism is here is a guy at 34 years old who is in at 8:30 in the morning. He is taking care of his body, lifting and eating right. He still has a lot that he wants to do. He could be like, ‘I’m 34. I don’t have time for these young guys. I don’t have time for this.’ And he does it. He is a real relationship person, which for our team has been great.”
Paul and the Thunder will look for their first three-game winning streak Wednesday night when they host the Pacers. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.