In a perfect world, Chris Paul would have gotten off to a stellar start in Oklahoma City.
In comparison, the teams that had previously been interested in dealing for him: Miami, Milwaukee, and Minnesota would be sluggish and in need of a trade to shake things up.
But things are rarely perfect, and although Paul has indeed excelled as the leader of the Thunder, the trade marker for the 34-year-old veteran is shockingly quiet.
Oklahoma City knew that it would be difficult to offload Paul’s contract. $38.5 million, $41.3 million and $44.2 million per year, starting with this season is a tough sell to anyone.
But, as pointed out by The Oklahoman, for the moment trading CP3 looks more difficult than ever.
But it doesn’t help that Miami, the team that was most interested in Paul during the off-season is off to a 9-3 start. For now, Jimmy Butler seems fine on his own in South Beach.
Or that Minnesota, who already has a superstar in Karl-Anthony Towns, is 8-6 and playing better than their record indicates.
Berry Tramel believes that ultimately, the most likely landing spot for Paul is the Lakers. They “remain the team most likely to covet Paul. Money is no object to the Lakers. And while Davis and LeBron are going great guns, Davis is injury-prone and LeBron is almost 35. Paul would be an insurance policy.”
That being said, the Lakers don’t have much to offer in return to a rebuilding Thunder organization.
The 2019-20 season is just 14 games in. There’s still time for a market to develop, but for now, all is quiet on the Chris Paul front.